Chargers try to keep it rolling

After another slow start this season, something that has become customary in San Diego, the Chargers are heating up again. Three straight wins capped off by a thrilling come from behind victory last week against the Giants has brought the Bolts back from below 500 at 2-3 to a mark of 5-3. During that span they’ve also gained two games on first place Denver (6-2) and are now just a game behind the AFC West leading Broncos. This week the Chargers hope to keep building momentum as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Qualcomm Stadium.

It’s been an up and down season for the Eagles so far. They’ve played well enough to achieve a winning record of 5-3, but have lacked the consistency needed to own first place in the NFC East. Two weeks ago they blew out division rival New York 40-17 but lost a tight one at home against the Cowboys 20-16 last week. Dallas took over first at 6-2 and the Eagles are looking to rebound quickly with their upcoming showdown against the Chargers.

Against the Giants the Eagles looked like a high powered offense. McNabb had a big day, throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns while his young receivers Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin burned the Giants secondary all day with their speed. But against Dallas the output of the offense was not nearly the same. McNabb struggled with two interceptions and only one TD and the absence of star running back Brian Westbrook was magnified versus a tough Cowboy defense.

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Westbrook will return for Philadelphia this week after suffering a concussion prior to the Giants game and the Eagles are hoping he will be his usual productive self against San Diego. Over the course of the Chargers three game winning streak their once struggling defense has improved tremendously. Before the streak they were having a difficult time stopping anyone on the ground and were getting very little pressure on opposing quarterbacks. All that has changed, however, especially with the pass rush, which has sacked the quarterback 14 times in the last three games.

Needless to say things are going well these days in San Diego. Phillip Rivers has continued to come up big for his team as he did again last week, leading the Chargers downfield for a win in the closing seconds at Giant Stadium. But one aspect of the Chargers game that has not advanced is the rushing. Ladanian Tomlinson had a poor outing against the Giants, gaining only 22 yards and many are now saying that he is over the hill. LT has been one of the very best running backs in the NFL for a long time, but his production has clearly slipped, and the Chargers don’t really have another back to replace him. Darren Sproles is a dangerous weapon on the offense, but lacks the size to be a premiere back.

The Chargers will try to get that running game moving against a physical Eagle defense. It won’t be easy, but any kind of production out of the running backs will be helpful just to keep them from becoming too one dimensional on offense. And for the most part they have been one dimensional on offense for the duration of this season and most of last year as well. Maybe Phillip Rivers is just that good, a Dan Marino in the making. Sunday’s game against the Eagles will surely tell the tale.

By Steven Mondelli
ProFootball-fans.com San Diego Chargers Correspondent