<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Banged-up Eagles could be soothing balm for ailing Chargers

          play
          Edwards: Chargers can expose Philadelphia's secondary (0:47)

          Tedy Bruschi and Herm Edwards say the winless Chargers will pick up their first win against the 2-1 Eagles. (0:47)

          • Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff WriterSep 30, 2017, 09:15 PM
            Close
            • Covered Seahawks for Tacoma News Tribune for six seasons.
            • Played college football at University of Puget Sound
            Follow on X

          COSTA MESA, Calif. -- You can never have enough playmakers, right?

          What seems like an obvious answer generates some legitimacy when you consider how much a Los Angeles Chargers offense that includes Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates, Hunter Henry, Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin have struggled to score points.

          Through three games, the Chargers are averaging just 16 points a game, No. 26 in the NFL.

          However, Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said having too many mouths to feed on offense isn’t the issue.

          “Not at all,” he said. “We’ve got to get the ball into the hands of the right people. And they’ve got to make plays when they get it. And sometimes our quarterback may throw up a 50-50 ball, and we’ve got to break it up. We just can’t let the other team catch it.

          “We’ve just got to play smarter, learn from our mistakes and continue to work the way we’re working and I’m very confident this team’s going to turn things around.”

          That said, let’s take a look at a couple questions from this week’s mailbag.

          @eric_d_williams: According to ESPN NFL Nation Eagles reporter Tim McManus, the Eagles will be without their top defensive player in defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who’s been ruled out with a calf injury.

          Fellow defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao, cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Jaylen Watkins, and safety Corey Graham will also be out.

          Add the Eagles’ injury woes to the fact that they are traveling across the country to Los Angeles, and the Chargers should be able to get their offense going.

          The Eagles have lost eight of their last nine games on the road.

          Entering Sunday’s game, Philadelphia is allowing 266 passing yards a contest, No. 26 in the NFL. So the Chargers and Philip Rivers should be able to get something going through the air against Philadelphia’s defense.

          “They’re disruptive,” Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said about Philadelphia’s defense, led by longtime NFL defensive guru Jim Schwartz. “The scheme that they run is one where they get up field and try to make it difficult for you to block their players because they’re always on the edges.

          “They’re well coached. They do a good job so we have to be smart in our approach. We have to continue to, when we get into situations, make the plays. Some of the ones we missed this past week, if we can hit those, it really helps.”

          @eric_d_williams: Hunter Henry's early-season struggles continued in a Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he finished without a catch for the second time in three games.

          This year was supposed to be a breakout season for the second-year pro out of Arkansas, but through three games Henry has just seven catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.

          “A couple of those balls that got tipped and knocked down were going to him,” Lynn said about last week’s game against the Chiefs. “One time Philip (Rivers) got ran out of the pocket, it was going to him. We’ve got to get him involved. We’ve talked about that. Earlier in the games, make sure he gets his touches. He’s too good of a player.”

          One thing working in favor of Henry is Philadelphia’s defense has allowed 18 catches for 184 receiving yards and a touchdown to tight ends over the first three games. So perhaps Henry can shake loose against the Eagle’s defense.