On the Line

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A prime-time showdown between the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and visiting Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) kicks off around 8:15 ET, under the bright lights of “Monday Night Football.”

The Chargers, coming off a decisive 31-14 win over the Raiders, enter the game with a banged up offense at critical positions while the Eagles will look to end a two-game skid and quiet outside noise that has grown louder since losing 24-15 on Black Friday to the Chicago Bears.

GETTY IMAGES: Chargers QB Justin Herbert is expected to face the Eagles despite a fracture in his hand.

For what it’s worth, on Saturday, the final time the team practiced before leaving for Los Angeles, the mood was noticeably upbeat, depicting a loose group whose ready for the moment. From Warren G’s “Regulate,” which kicked off Saturday’s session and had players bouncing around, to the candid messaging on Saquon Barkley – and yes, a giant, inflatable ‘Positivity Bunny’ stationed Saturday in the back half of the locker room to promote positive vibes and elicit some smiles – there’s enough there to warrant optimism heading into Monday night.

Sunday Transaction

Ahead of “Monday Night Football” the Eagles created a roster spot by waiving WR/RS Xavier Gipson and ruling rookie out T Myles Hinton, whose 21-day practice window is nearing expiration.

Gipson, 24, appeared in five games for the Eagles after being awarded via waivers from the Giants earlier this season. The Stephen F. Austin product returned six punts for 67 yards, suffering a shoulder injury – and fumble – in the rematch in Dallas on a questionable decision to field a punt deep in Eagles’ territory. As a receiver, Gipson also collected a pair of catches for six yards. Should Gipson clear waivers, perhaps he returns on the practice squad, but the Eagles are going forward with Britain Covey as the return specialist, where he’ll also join RB Will Shipley deep on kick returns.

The roster move clears a spot, in all likelihood, for S Marcus Epps to join the 53-man roster ahead of Monday’s game. Listening to Eagles DC Vic Fangio last week, Epps, whose 21-day practice window opened last week, is in contention to start. He also offered what he likes about the 29-year-old defender:

“He’s an experienced safety,” he said. “He’s got good instincts, got good feel for the game. We’ll have to get a feel and a barometer about where he is at missing the last four or five weeks, whatever it was, where he couldn’t practice anyway.”

Final game prediction

Officially, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is listed as questionable after having undergone surgery a week ago for a fracture in his left hand. Whether or not he’ll truly be able to give it a go remains to be seen, but he’ll obviously be impacted greatly if he does, having to resort to predominantly being in pistol and shotgun. His grip on the football would be the Eagles a clear advantage when pressuring.

The other variable, and another pretty considerable one, is that the Chargers are without both of their starting tackles in Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Jamaree Salyer and Trey Pipkins are slated to again fill in at left and right tackle, respectively, which decidedly favors an Eagles pass-rush group headed by OLBs Jaelan Phillips, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt.

Sure, the Eagles will be without star DT Jalen Carter, who last week had a procedure on both shoulders and is deemed to be week-to-week, but between the favorable matchups on the outside, the Eagles should have enough interior juice with Moro Ojomo and Jordan Davis, along with reserves Byron Young and rookie Ty Robinson to keep Herbert at bay from a passing perspective.

All that being said, however, it’s worth noting that Chargers running back Omarion Hampton, the team’s first-round pick, has been activated from injured reserve after missing a sizeable chunk of the season with an ankle injury. Like the Bears tandem of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai – who rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries on Black Friday – the Chargers also have a two-headed rushing attack in Hampton and Kimani Vidal, the latter of whom has 543 rushing yards and three touchdowns. I’d expect a ground-heavy approach from the Chargers, at least early, to alleviate pressure from Herbert and see if they’re able to generate similar success. I’d also expect Fangio to implement drastic measures to ensure a repeat of Black Friday doesn’t repeat itself.

The big question surrounding this game concerns an Eagles offense that’s staggered and lacked answers for the better part of the season. They’ll be tasked with moving the football, in optimal conditions, against a pretty stout Chargers defense headed by coordinator Jesse Minter. While there’s little evidence to support this, I’m expecting the Eagles rushing attack to showcase some creativity and variance to throw the Chargers off-balance and as an attempt to control the game. What remains to be seen will be whether quarterback Jalen Hurts, who hasn’t run all that much through 12 games, factors into this equation.

I have the Eagles winning a close one tonight in Los Angeles, 24-20.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com