Eagles lose back-and-forth game to Chargers, 27 to 24

The Philadelphia Eagles are 3-6 after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday evening. Final score: 27 to 24.

This was a tough loss for the Birds. They played some good football against a quality opponent but their efforts ultimately weren’t enough. Jalen Hurts had some good drive in the second half but left some points on the board in the first half. The defense got some big stops but still ultimately allowed the Chargers to move the ball too easily, with Justin Herbert completing 84.2% of his attempts for 356 yards, two throwing touchdowns, a 123.2 passer rating, and one rushing score.

Overall, it was a respectable showing from the Eagles. But a moral victory is much less satisfying than an actual win.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Chargers won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Eagles got the ball first. The first play was a 3-yard run by Boston Scott. Jalen Hurts ran away from pressure on 3rd-and-5 and hit Dallas Goedert over the middle for a first down. Nice play. On the next 3rd-and-5, Hurts overthrew a wide open Goedert on what could’ve been a touchdown. Bad. The Eagles punted from the Chargers’ 45-yard line and Zech McPhearson down the ball at the 1-yard line.

• The Chargers faced 3rd-and-7 from their own 4-yard line but Justin Herbert hit ... Jalen Guyton ... for a first down. The Bolts methodically moved into field goal range. Then to goal-to-goal. On 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Herbert’s quick throw was dropped. The Chargers went for it on fourth down and Herbert got it to Keenan Allen but he was stopped short! Andre Chachere, who was in for an injured Avonte Maddox, came up with the tackle. Big stop after giving up 98 yards.

• The Eagles went three-and-out after a Hurts overthrow out of bounds, a Jordan Howard run for no gain, and a Hurts scramble for four yards.
• The Chargers took over at Philly’s 38-yard line after a short punt that was returned for nine yards. LA used a pick play (no penalty) to Jared Cook to get down to the 2-yard line. Then Herbert to ... Stephen Anderson (who?) ... for the first points of the game. EAGLES 0, CHARGERS 7.
• The Eagles gained 26 yards on two Howard carries to bring an end to the first quarter. Turns out that running the ball thing might be more effective for this team.

SECOND QUARTER

• Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith for a 27-yard completion to put Philly in the red zone. Smith’s probably a guy worth targeting more often. Hurts took off running on 3rd-and-3 to set up 1st-and-goal from the 7-yard line. Looked like Jack Driscoll got away with a holding penalty, but, oh well. Scott ran into Landon Dickerson and tripped to bring up third down. Hurts then handed off to Howard for the Eagles’ first score. Good response by Nick Sirianni and the offense to go 75 yards in 10 plays. EAGLES 7, CHARGERS 7.

• The Chargers moved to 3rd-and-6 from Philly’s 31-yard line. A short completion to Allen set up 4th-and-2. On fourth down, T.J. Edwards and Alex Singleton combined to tackle Joshua Kelley short of the sticks. Another big stop by the defense.
• The Eagles got to 3rd-and-2 at their own 48-yard line and took a timeout. Howard powered it up the gut for the first. The Eagles continued to pound the rock to move into field goal range. And then the red zone. And then Hurts took off running to set up 1st-and-goal from the 10-yard line. The Eagles got to third down from the 6-yard line and Hurts threw wide of an open Smith in the end zone. Sirianni settled for a 24-yard field goal attempt for the halftime lead. 16 plays, 68 yards, 7:04 off the clock. Ball control. EAGLES 10, CHARGERS 7.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Chargers got the ball to start the second half. LA took five plays to move into the red zone. The Eagles bent but didn’t break and forced a stop to bring up a 30-yard Dustin Hopkins field goal to tie the game. EAGLES 10, CHARGERS 10.
• The Eagles went three-and-out after Joey Bosa pushed Jack Driscoll into Hurts to trip up the quarterback for a sack.
• Herbert made an incredible deep, opposite field throw to Mike Williams for a 49-yard gain. The value of top end arm talent. Herbert threw to Donald Parham short of the end zone but Darius Slay was stiff-armed en route to an LA touchdown. Hopkins missed the extra point. EAGLES 10, CHARGERS 16.

• John Hightower made an inadvisable decision to run the ball out of the end zone to only get to the 15-yard line (and take a big shot in the process). Hurts hit a wide open Smith for a first down and then a contested Smith for another. Again, always worth throwing to that guy. Another Hurts completion, a quick throw in the flat, to Goedert got the ball to red zone. Hurts took a big hit from Bosa to bring up 3rd-and-8. On third down, Hurts wisely broke the pocket right with no defenders around to stop him. His run set up 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Kenneth Gainwell’s second straight carry punched the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown and the lead. Another good response by the offense. Hurts’ best drive in some time. EAGLES 17, CHARGERS 16.

• Davion Taylor came up with a tackle for loss on a short throw to Austin Ekeler. Good to see a big play from the young LB. Herbert’s third down pass was incomplete but the Chargers got a first down with Slay called for defensive holding on Mike Williams. The Chargers had a holding penalty of their own to get knocked back to 2nd-and-17.

FOURTH QUARTER

• On 3rd-and-9, Herbert made a big completion over the middle to Allen for the first down into field goal range. Derek Barnett had a bad neutral zone infraction penalty to turn 3rd-and-6 into 3rd-and-1. The Chargers snuck it with Herbert for the first down. An Ekeler carry set up 1st-and-goal from the 8-yard line. Herbert took off running for the touchdown. The Chargers went for two and Cook pushed off Anthony Harris for a catch but there was no flag. EAGLES 17, CHARGERS 24.
• Jalen Reagor’s first catch was a designed screen that went for -6 yards after he ran the wrong way. Some booing ensued at the Linc. The Eagles got a first with Hurts connecting with Smith yet again. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-4 and Hurts took off running right for the first down. He got flipped over after a Chargers defender went low on him but he popped right back up.

The Eagles got to another 3rd-and-4 and the Chargers had to call a timeout with an extra defender running off the field. Hurts eluded pressure and ran for yet another first down. Hurts then hit an open Smith over the middle and the receiver got some YAC for the game-tying touchdown. Another good drive by Hurts. And the Eagles’ 2021 first-round pick. EAGLES 24, CHARGERS 24.

• The Chargers got to 3rd-and-6 and Edwards came up with a big tackle on Allen to set up 4th-and-1 at Philly’s 39-yard line. The Chargers went for it and Ekeler’s run into a pile was ruled a first down. The Eagles called their first timeout at 1:53 with the Chargers at 2nd-and-3 from the 31-yard line. The Eagles called their second timeout at 1:48 with the Chargers at 3rd-and-2 from the 29-yard line. On third down, the Chargers got stopped short of the sticks ... but LA was granted their second timeout to nullify the play. On third down for real, Ekeler gained a yard to bring up 4th-and-1. The Eagles took their third and final timeout at 1:41. The Chargers called their final timeout before running their fourth down play. On fourth down, Herbert snuck it for a yard and a first down. Ekeler picked up 16 yards to then ultimately set up a 29-yard field goal. EAGLES 24, CHARGERS 27.
• The Eagles tried lateraling on the final play to no avail. Game.

LINEUP NOTES

• Tyree Jackson made his NFL debut on the Eagles’ second drive.
• John Hightower supplanted Quez Watkins as the Eagles’ kick returner during the game.

INJURIES

• Avonte Maddox (knee) got banged up on the Chargers’ first drive. Andre Chachere came in to replace him in the slot. Maddox returned early in the second quarter but then went missing again.
• Darius Slay (hamstring) got banged up in the third quarter. Zech McPhearson came in to replace him.
• Josh Sweat visited the medical tent late in the fourth quarter.