Numbers and trends that could impact Monday’s Eagles-Chargers game in Los Angeles

The Eagles are off to the Los Angeles area for the third consecutive season, although this time they’ll face the Chargers and not the Rams at SoFi Stadium, a building they could have to travel to again in the playoffs if they want to reach another Super Bowl.

The 8-4 Eagles have lost their last two games, while the 8-4 Chargers have won four of five.

Here are some key numbers and trends from the Chargers that could play into Monday’s result in California:

Eagles fans probably don’t need a reminder, but it’s worth repeating just how badly the Eagles were beaten up by Chicago’s running game Friday to the tune of 281 yards.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he “didn’t do a good enough job of preparing our squad for the quality and the diversity of their run game” and that the defense needed to play better technique and needed to be coached better.

Well, here comes a Chargers offense that just got 126 yards on 25 carries from Kimani Vidal in a 31-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13. The Chargers limped into their bye week after a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they emerged from the week off with a dominant running game that could give the Eagles fits if they don’t make fixes fast.

Vidal, according to Next Gen Stats, forced a career-high 12 missed tackles. The Chargers chose to run away from Maxx Crosby’s side of the field and got 80 yards and a touchdown on nine carries outside the left tackle, according to Next Gen.

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The Eagles should be prepared for the Chargers to try to attack whatever weakness they can find up front. Right now, that might mean running at Jalen Carter, who is dealing with a shoulder injury and got pushed around at times Friday.

“They’ve rushed for 200 yards on two teams this year,” said Fangio, who added that Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman has “always done a good job running the ball schematically.”

“They have a big tight end, big fullback, pretty big O-line, good backs. They run it very, very [well],” Fangio said.

The good news for the Eagles is that they could be either dealing with a limited Justin Herbert or could face backup quarterback Trey Lance.

Herbert underwent surgery on his left hand Monday, and his status for the game remains unclear. Fangio said the Eagles will prepare for both quarterbacks and know that if Herbert goes, he’ll be playing a lot out of the shotgun and pistol sets rather than under center.

Regardless of who plays, the Chargers did a much better job protecting Herbert last week. He faced a pressure rate of just 26.9%, according to Next Gen, his second-lowest rate of the season. Herbert, who has been dealing with a banged-up offensive line, entered Week 13 facing pressure on 42.7% of his dropbacks in 2025, the highest of any quarterback this year with 375 dropbacks.

He completed 15 of 20 passes for 151 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Raiders have one of the lowest pressure rates (26.9%) in the NFL. The Eagles pressure the quarterback at a 34.3% clip and should be able to find some more success getting after Herbert.

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The Eagles were torched by the Bears on third down last week. Chicago converted 10 of its 17 third downs. It’s an area in which the Eagles have struggled at times in 2025.

Against the Chargers, they should at least know where to focus their attention most. No player on the Chargers gets targeted more on third down than Keenan Allen, who entered Week 13 with a 36.8% target share on third downs, according to Next Gen. Allen, who has had a resurgence in his return to the Chargers, entered Week 13 with a league-leading 22 receptions on 35 targets on third down, good for 259 yards and a touchdown. His 20 first downs on third down also led the NFL.

It will be interesting to see how the Eagles defend the Chargers’ top two targets, Allen and Ladd McConkey, who both align inside and out. McConkey is in the slot 62.5% of the time, according to Pro Football Focus, while Allen is inside just 35.5% of the time. Expect Quinyon Mitchell to see a lot of Allen while McConkey will likely be matched up frequently with Cooper DeJean.

The Eagles could have the advantage there, considering how elite Mitchell has been. Mitchell is first in the NFL in catch rate allowed (41.9%) and second in tight windows forced (40.5%).

Stopping the run will be key because getting the Chargers into obvious passing situations likely will play into the Eagles’ hands.