- Omarion Hampton returns for the Los Angeles Chargers: Their first-round rookie played in his first game since Week 5, and a big overtime run helped Los Angeles score the game-winning field goal, but Kimani Vidal remained a significant part of the Chargers’ offense.
- Saquon Barkley breaks his second long touchdown run: The Philadelphia Eagles running back broke long touchdown runs at a historic pace last season. His second long touchdown this season helped the Eagles reach overtime despite four offensive turnovers during regulation.
- Get PFF+ for 30% off: Use promo code HOLIDAY30 to unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more — everything you need to win your season.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Los Angeles Chargers
Omarion Hampton returns for the Chargers: The Chargers’ first-round rookie was activated off injured reserve after last playing in Week 5.
Hampton began the year as Los Angeles’ lead running back, playing 77.9% of offensive snaps over the first four weeks. He was an every-down back, taking at least 72% of snaps in all situations, including 100% of the goal-line and two-minute drill snaps. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 5, which led to his placement on injured reserve. He was limited in practice on Thursday but practiced in full on Friday and Saturday, leading to his activation on Monday.
Najee Harris began the year as the backup and Hassan Haskins as the third-string back. Harris is out for the season, and Haskins also missed most of the games Hampton missed with a hamstring injury. Haskins was similarly limited on Thursday, practiced in full on Friday and Saturday, and was activated as well.
They joined Kimani Vidal, who started the year on the practice squad but was activated once Harris landed on injured reserve. Vidal played 71.6% of snaps from Weeks 6–11, taking at least 62% of snaps in all situations. With three healthy running backs, Los Angeles waived Jaret Patterson to clear a roster spot.
The Chargers used Hampton and Vidal in a frequent rotation, with each back taking only a few snaps at a time before the other subbed in. Haskins wasn’t involved on offense. There was a general tendency to use Hampton in run situations and Vidal in pass situations, though the split wasn’t as defined as most backfields. As the game progressed, the team leaned more on Vidal, with the second-year back dominating snaps in the fourth quarter when Los Angeles started playing from behind. Vidal caught a 60-yard pass on the opening drive, while Hampton scored a touchdown on that same drive — plays that accounted for most of their fantasy production.
There is a chance the Chargers were easing Hampton back in, but Vidal played well enough during his time as the starter that this could simply remain a two-man backfield for the rest of the season. Los Angeles has a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs next week, followed by a favorable one against the Dallas Cowboys, and then finishes with another difficult game against the Houston Texans. Both running backs could be considered flex plays next week, but expectations should be tempered, as neither is likely to match the fantasy production from their peak usage weeks.
The Chargers adjust their tight end rotation: Will Dissly served as the Chargers’ backup tight end, marking his first game since Week 7.
Los Angeles started the season with Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin as its top two tight ends, with Oronde Gadsden and Tucker Fisk serving as healthy inactives for the first two games. Dissly suffered a knee injury, which led Gadsden to emerge as the Chargers’ receiving tight end, while Dissly regained his role as the run-blocking tight end, similar to last season. Dissly returned in Week 6 and was part of a temporary three-man rotation.
From Weeks 8–13, Gadsden played 72.0% of the offensive snaps, primarily in 11 and 12 personnel. Fisk played 40.9% of snaps in 12 and 21 personnel, and Conklin logged 9.8% as a backup to both players, while Dissly has been a healthy inactive.
Fisk suffered an ankle injury last week, which kept him out of practice. He was placed on injured reserve, opening the door for one of the Chargers’ veterans to handle the 12 and 21 personnel roles. Los Angeles chose Dissly. They made Conklin inactive, which freed up a roster spot for another position. In future weeks, it’s at least possible that Conklin will also be active as a backup.
Gadsden’s role was unaffected by the movement among the backup tight ends, with his situational snap rates differing only a few percentage points from his averages over the last two months. He was a top fantasy tight end in October, but he hasn’t been nearly as involved in the Chargers’ passing game over the past month. He had his worst receiving performance of the season with one catch for seven yards. None of their fantasy playoff matchups are favorable, so he likely shouldn’t be in fantasy lineups going forward. Dissly served as a direct replacement for Fisk, as expected.
Jahan Dotson plays a limited role: The Eagles’ third wide receiver has seen his playing time decrease in recent weeks, and he showed up on the injury report this past week.
Dotson has spent the last two seasons as the Eagles’ third wide receiver, playing in three-receiver sets and rarely seeing snaps in two-receiver sets unless there is an injury. He played 90.8% of the team’s 11-personnel snaps over the first 11 weeks and just 9.0% of its 12-personnel snaps, with 14 of his 19 snaps in 12 personnel coming in Week 8 when A.J. Brown was out. His week-to-week playing time has varied entirely based on game script and formation usage.
That trend shifted slightly over the past two weeks, as he played only 75% of the 11-personnel snaps. Undrafted rookie Darius Cooper has taken the remaining 25%, along with a few snaps when Brown or DeVonta Smith needed a break. Cooper entered the game with just two career receptions, while Dotson has made several big plays this season. It seems likely that Dotson has been dealing with an injury, and last week was the first time he appeared on the injury report.
Dotson was limited in practice on Thursday and Friday with a toe injury before practicing in full on Saturday. Cooper again rotated in whenever Dotson came off the field in 11 personnel, taking an even higher percentage of snaps from him than in recent weeks. Cooper caught a 19-yard pass in this game, while Dotson had a three-yard reception.
The split between Dotson and Cooper won’t matter for most fantasy leagues, but it could become much more significant if Brown or Smith suffers an injury in the coming weeks.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was limited all week with a left hand injury that required surgery and was questionable, but he was ultimately active.
- Los Angeles wide receiver Quentin Johnston was limited in practice on Thursday with a shoulder injury.
- The Chargers activated wide receiver Dalevon Campbell from the practice squad, only for him to be inactive. While it’s common to see this when a player is elevated on Saturday as injury insurance and the starter ends up being active, it’s rare for someone to be elevated and inactive on the same day. With the Los Angeles wide receiver room relatively healthy, the move was even more unusual.
- Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception, recovered a fumble and fumbled the recovery on the same play. He is the first player with two turnovers on one play since 1978, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
- Saquon Barkley recorded seven rushing touchdowns of 50 or more yards over the regular and postseason last year. He accomplished this once over the first 13 weeks and scored his second touchdown of 50 or more yards in this game.
- The Eagles waived wide receiver Xavier Gipson on Monday. Gipson was primarily a returner, with only nine snaps on offense for the Eagles. Last week, Philadelphia turned to Britain Covey and running back Will Shipley as their kick and punt returners, making Gipson expendable.
Table Notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
