On a sloppy night with eight combined turnovers between the Eagles and Chargers, Los Angeles came up with one final needed defensive play to beat Philadelphia 22-19 in overtime.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts had five giveaways, with two ironically coming on the same play. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had two giveaways, though Los Angeles was largely able to mitigate the damage from them.
Two of Hurts’ interceptions came in the first half, including a bizarre play that saw Hurts throw an interception and lose a fumble to give the Chargers the ball. Via Benjamin Solak of ESPN, the Elias Sports Bureau went back to 1978 — as far as records would allow — and noted no player had ever recorded two turnovers on one play.
But Hurts’ third pick came in the fourth quarter and allowed the Chargers to tie the game at 16-16. Hurts fired over the middle to A.J. Brown, with the pass sailing a little high. The ball went off Brown’s hands and into the arms of cornerback Cam Hart for a pick. Cameron Dicker then nailed a 31-yard field goal to tie the score.
After Philadelphia and Los Angeles traded punts, the Eagles got down the field with receptions of 15 and 19 yards by Brown. Brown had his hands on the ball to make a deep catch in the end zone with about 2:30 left in regulation for a go-ahead score, but the pass was broken up by Hart.
Jake Elliott’s 44-yard field goal sailed through the uprights to give Philadelphia a 19-16 lead with 2:16 on the clock.
Herbert was pressured heavily throughout the night, getting sacked a career-high seven times. But even with that in his face, Herbert largely used his legs to get the Chargers in field-goal position by the end of regulation. Dicker sailed his 46-yard field goal through the uprights to tie the score at 19-19 with eight seconds on the clock.
Philadelphia won the overtime coin toss, electing to kick.
The Chargers got a couple of long runs to start their possession, one by Herbert and another by Omarion Hampton to put the team in Philadelphia territory. While the drive stalled from there, Dicker’s 54-yard field goal gave the Chargers a three-point advantage.
When the Eagles got the ball back, Barkley — who reached 100 yards for just the second time all season — had a short carry, Hurts threw an incomplete pass to Brown, and a holding call on third-and-6 put Philadelphia well behind the chains.
But that’s when DeVonta Smith made his first impact play of the night, catching a 28-yard pass to put the Eagles in Chargers’ territory. Los Angeles had another chance to win the game with a fourth-and-4 play, but a neutral-zone infraction instead gave Philadelphia a free first down.
The turnover bug hit Hurts one final time. The quarterback’s pass on first-and-10 from the Chargers’ 17 was tipped by Hart and intercepted by Tony Jefferson to end the game.
Hurts finished 21-of-40 for 240 yards with four interceptions and one lost fumble. He rushed four times for 8 yards. Barkley had 20 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown, and Brown caught six passes for 100 yards.
Herbert, who had surgery on a broken bone in his left hand a week ago, was 12-of-26 for 139 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble. He was also the Chargers’ leading rusher with 66 yards on 10 carries.
With the win, the Chargers move to 9-4. They will face the Chiefs on the road in Week 15.
The Eagles have now fallen to 8-5, losing their third game in a row, but they host the 2-11 Raiders on Sunday.
