The Monday Night Football game will be a strong matchup featuring playoff contenders. The Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) will travel across the country to face the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) in a pivotal matchup for both squads.
Philadelphia is looking to end a two-game losing streak on Monday night. The Eagles dropped back-to-back games to the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears, dropping their lead over the NFC East division to two games.
Los Angeles is solidly in the Wild Card hunt for the AFC playoff picture. Denver has a 3.5-game lead over the Chargers heading into this contest, but Los Angeles is among a three-team group competing for the three final positions in this year’s postseason tournament.
Can the Chargers add to their 5-2 home record with a win over Philadelphia? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our top three player props for Monday’s primetime contest.
Officially, Justin Herbert is listed as questionable for the Chargers on Monday night because of a left-hand injury. But with Los Angeles needing a win to keep pace in the AFC, there’s little doubt that the quarterback will play.
Through 12 games, he’s completed nearly 67 percent of his passes for 2,842 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Since suffering the injury, he’s notched just 232 total yards, completing 25 of his 38 pass attempts against Jacksonville and Las Vegas.
One reason he’s passed for such few yards over the past two games is the effectiveness of the running game. We’ll cover that later. In the meantime, the Eagles have surrendered 215 passing yards five times this year. Expect Herbert to notch his name as the sixth signal-caller to do so.
Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley has struggled this season compared to his previous year. The veteran has netted under four yards per rush, notching 740 rushing yards on 198 carries. He’s scored four times on the ground while adding two more via the team’s passing attack.
Target Barkley as a receiver for this contest. He’s caught 35 of 43 targets for 259 yards through 12 games. And in two-thirds of the Chargers’ games thus far, running backs have finished with more than 25 receiving yards. That’s more than enough to cover Barkley’s receiving total, making it a must-bet for individuals.
After spending several weeks on the Injured Reserve (IR) list, the Chargers expect Omarion Hampton to play on Monday night. Through five games, Hampton had 66 rushes for 314 yards, scoring twice on the ground for Los Angeles.
Philadelphia had been stout against the run before last week’s surprising outburst by the Bears. While Dallas ran for 111 yards the week prior, Chicago’s running backs combined for 255 yards in their 24-15 victory over the Eagles.
Can bettors expect Hampton to have a strong day against Philly? The answer is no. First, analysts believe he’ll split time with Kimani Vidal in the backfield. And second, he’s not seen action in more than two months against a defense that’s ready to prove their last few outings were flukes. Take the under on Hampton’s rushing prop total.
Despite having an 8-4 record, the Chargers own only one win over a team that’s above .500 this season. That came back in Week 3 as Los Angeles defeated division-leading Denver 23-20 at home.
Philadelphia has won four such games, claiming wins over the Rams, Buccaneers, Packers, and Lions. Their schedule has been significantly harder than the Chargers. That’s why I believe oddsmakers have this one right. Take the Eagles to cover the 2.5-point spread by winning by at least a field goal on Monday night.