Chargers vs Eagles Odds, Lines, Picks, and Predictions for Week 9 Matchup

• The Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles (3-5) in Week 9
• 2021 Record: 4-2; +1.6 units
• Kickoff is set for 4:05 pm EST Lincoln Financial Field

After a wild back-and-forth win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, the Chargers are on a bit of a slide. They dropped Week 6 to the Ravens, and then following their bye, stumbled against the Patriots.

The Eagles snapped a two-game slide with a lopsided win over the Lions.  It took a bit of the sting out of a comeback that just fell short against Bucs and an afternoon mostly spent chasing the Raiders. They’re still way back in the NFC East and the Wild Card race.

With both in need of a win entering Week 9, they’ll meet at Lincoln Financial Field at 4:05 pm EST.

Chargers vs Eagles Odds

Odds as of November 6th at DraftKings

Philly may have stumbled out to an awkward 3-5 start, but against the spread the Eagles are 3-1 over their last four. This is after opening the season just 1-3 ATS.

NFL public money dropped the spread to 2.5 in most places after it opened at 3.0. At DraftKings however, the spread has moved all the way down to LAC -2.0 for the road favorite.

Chargers vs Eagles Injury Report

The Eagles have been without safety Anthony Harris for two weeks now. But when Friday’s final injury report was released, it was good news for both Harris and the Eagles.

While the Chargers dodged a bullet with their star QB, they weren’t so lucky with their defensive backs.

Week 9 Injury Report

Justin Herbert injured his throwing hand last Sunday against the Patriots, but he was back to a full participant by Thursday.

Missing both Michael Davis and Asante Samuel Jr though, is troubling. There is an answer, as Tevaughn Smith played well in Weeks 3 and 4 and has logged 35+ snaps in five-straight weeks.

Justin Herbert’s Recent Slump

Herbert was taking the NFL by storm through the first five games of his season. But he struggled significantly against the Ravens, and despite a solid start coming out of the bye week, disappointed in the second half against New England.

Herbert admitted afterwards that both defenses did things that he didn’t anticipate. Things like that can be expected from a young QB, but they’ve got to be ironed out quickly if LA wants to stay ahead of the Chiefs.

Justin Herbert: First Six Games vs Last Two

While left tackle is typically the big-money position on the offensive line, it’s the protection at right tackle that’s likely contributed to Herbert’s struggles. Storm Norton allowed four pressures on 45 pass block snaps in Week 6. He allowed eight pressures on 40 passing snaps against the Patriots.

Over the past two games, Herbert has gone 6-for-12 when targeting receivers at medium depth and 4-for-8 when going deep. While the deep shots are in line with what he produced over his first five games (9-for-20), his medium passing accuracy was higher, clocking in at 55%.

The opportunities for more are there but the offensive line fails him (at least the past couple weeks) over and over.

Herbert is also just flat out missing some too. Underthrow to Guyton, hero ball to Allen with Williams wide open deep.

Mostly OL problem though. Awful right. https://t.co/eggaBkVOZJ pic.twitter.com/yrXiSSstbW

— Tyler Schoon (@tylerjschoon) November 4, 2021

The Ravens and Patriots also took away the quick passing game from Herbert. He’s thrown just eight attempts at or behind the line of scrimmage in those two games, with just one attempt against New England. He had 26 attempts through the first five weeks.

Eagles’ D Can Be Exploited

While Philly’s pass defense is middle of the road in passing yards allowed and yards-per-attempt, they’re first in a category that could kickstart LA’s offense. The Eagles have allowed opponents to connect on 74.3% of their passes.

The #Eagles rank 31st in the NFL in average time of possession.

They also rank 22nd in punts per offensive score.

It’s pretty hard to play stout defense, minimize scoring, and create turnovers when the defense is playing 55%+ of the snaps EVERY week.

The Offense is the issue.

— Luke (@Luke_Stans49) October 28, 2021

They’ve also allowed the 11th-most first downs, despite only allowing 50% of receptions to turn into a first down. That’s seventh-best in the league. In another weird twist, the Eagles are actually allowing the lowest yards-per-reception rate in the league at 9.5.

There’s yards to be had if Mike Williams, Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler can go to work in the middle of the field.

Chargers vs Eagles Prediction

So long as LA isn’t hiding something more sinister with Herbert’s hand injury, it’s tough to see this being as close as the line suggests. The Eagles are a surprising 0-3 at home this season, and offensively it’s hard to see them keeping up with the Chargers. Even if LA is down two starting corners.

Considering how small the spread is, taking the value there rather than Chargers outright is the call.

The Pick: LA Chargers -2.0 (-110), 1 unit