Jake Elliott, running backs power Eagles over Chargers

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Eagles traveled to Los Angeles but thanks to the well-traveled Philadelphia fans the Eagles used a favorable atmosphere and big days from Jake Elliott and the running backs to win 26-24.

The Defense – without Fletcher Cox – came up big on the first possession of the game when a rolling Philip Rivers was stripped from behind by Chris Long to quickly put the Eagles offense on the field. Derek Barnett recovered the fumble. 

The Eagles took advantage of good field position and marched down the field in their first drive of the game. LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood, and Corey Clement all carried the ball on the first drive and Nelson Agholor moved the Eagles inside the 10-yard line after catching a beautifully thrown ball by Carson Wentz and scurrying for 36 yards. 

Wentz would then find Alshon Jeffery for a touchdown to give the Eagles a quick 7-0 lead. Wentz was 3-3 for 48 yards and a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Jeffery ran a slant and Wentz hit him right on the goal line for the touchdown. 

On the Eagles next possession the good ball movement continued, but the offense fizzled out. Jake Elliott connected on a 45-yard field goal, giving the Eagles a 10-0 lead. Elliott would tack on another from 40-yards out to give the Eagles a 13-0 lead.

Philip Rivers would show off his arm on the next possession when he found Tyrell Williams for a 75-yard touchdown to trim the Eagles lead to 13-7. Williams beat Rasul Douglas over the top and Rivers hit him in stride for the big touchdown.

The Eagles would settle for a field goal again on the next possession as Jake Elliott converted on a 53-yard attempt to put the Eagles up 16-7. 

The Eagles scored on their first four possessions of the game. On their fifth possession they were forced to punt with a little over a minute left in the first half. 

Philip Rivers connected with Keenan Allen who picked up a huge 49-yard gain to put the Chargers in Eagles territory with 24 seconds left in the half. Allen would make another play to pick up another first down following a Brandon Graham offsides penalty. 

The corners came up big for the Eagles in the red zone – and got away with some contact – to force the Chargers to kick a field goal. Younghoe Koo connected on a 28-yard field right before halftime. 

The Eagles led 16-10 at the half. 

The Eagles received to start the second half but were forced into a three-and-out by the Chargers' defense. 

The Chargers were helped by the Eagles on their first possession of the second half after untimely defense and poor tackling over the Chargers down the field. The Eagles did recover in time to force the Charger to punt. 

The Chargers punt placed the Eagles on their 10-yard line. Carson Wentz hit Zach Ertz with another gorgeous pass – this time t Zach Ertz for 38 yards. The Eagles would strike first in the second half when Jake Elliott hit his fourth field goal of the day from 47-yards out, putting the Eagles up 19-10 with 55 seconds left to play in the third quarter after the offense stalled.

The Chargers would strike on the next drive after Austin Ezeker – the Chargers' third running back – broke through the Eagles' defense for s 35-yard touchdown run to make it a 19-17 game. 

The Eagles answered quickly with a big run of their own. LeGarrette Blount rumbled for a huge 68-yard gain to put the Eagles on the goal line. Blount shed multiple would be tacklers including a vicious stiff arm to Desmond King:

LeGarrette Blount is a MONSTER 😯

STRONG stiff arm 💪pic.twitter.com/QctX5JpLD3

— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) October 1, 2017

Wendell Smallwood would punch it in after multiple attempts, and penalties, on the goal line. The Eagles led 26-17 with about 10 minutes left in the final quarter. 

Just like last week the Eagles defense continued to give up backbreaking plays. Keenan Allen took a Philip Rivers pass and used a great run after the catch to pick up a 50-yard gain and put the Chargers inside the Eagles' 10-yard line. 

The Chargers found tight end Hunter Henry in the back of the end zone to make it a one-score game again. The pass was originally called incomplete but after a challenge from Los Angeles the call was overturned. Koo connected on the extra point to make it a 26-24 Eagles lead. 

The Eagles got the ball with a little over six minutes left in the contest. The Eagles did a great job milking the clock using passes to the center of the field and short runs to move the chains. 

Corey Clement converted on two third-and-short scenarios, coming up big in crunch time for the Eagles. 

After the two-minute warning the Eagles leaned on LeGarrette Blount to the finish line. Blount pounded through a tired Chargers defense to seal the win – including a big 15-yard gain on 3rd-and-1 from the Chargers' 30-yard line. After that carry the Eagles lined up in victory formation and took a knee to finish the game. 

The Eagles felt at home on Sunday evening as the Eagles' faithful filled the StubHub Center, and overpowering the Los Angeles fans with their cheers – and boos – throughout the game. 

Elliott was perfect on the day with four field goals of more than 40 yards and a perfect 2-of-2 on extra points. 

The Eagles ran for 214 yards on 42 carries as a team. LeGarrette Blount led the way with 136 yards on 16 carries. His 68-yard run was the longest of his career. 

Once again Zach Ertz led the Eagles in receiving with 5 catches for 81 yards. The Chargers' Keenan Allen led all receivers with 138 yards on five catches. 

Carson Wentz was 17-for-31 with 242 yards and one touchdown. For the second straight week Wentz did not throw an interception. 

Jordan Hicks led all players with eight tackles. 

The Eagles now sit atop the NFC East with a 3-1 record after the Dallas Cowboys suffered their second defeat of the season to the Los Angeles Rams. The Washington Redskins can advance to 3-1 with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football, but the Eagles hold the tiebreaker over them. 

The Eagles play again next week at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Four of the Eagles next five games are at home.