A major opportunity is staring the Los Angeles Chargers in the face on Monday night.
The Chargers can take a big step in the AFC playoff picture by beating the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on the primetime stage.
But lose to the defending Super Bowl champions and the Chargers are going to find themselves in a battle to claim one of the conference’s three wild-card berths.
Los Angeles (8-4) is three victories behind the AFC West-leading Denver Broncos (11-2) so the division race is a one-horse Mile High trot. The focus for the Chargers is earning a wild card.
After the game against the Eagles, the Chargers have back-to-back road games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys as part of three away contests in four weeks to close the regular season.
The visit to Kansas City will come on a short week due to the Monday game and also includes travel to the Midwest after the Chiefs played at home on Sunday. Not to mention that Kansas City (6-7) knows it can’t lose another game if it wants its playoff aspirations to have legitimate life.
Beating the Eagles would be a big deal for the Chargers as it would give them the same record as the Buffalo Bills (9-4) and place them one game ahead of the charging Houston Texans and the embattled Indianapolis Colts.
The Baltimore Ravens (6-7) could make a run but their best bet is overtaking the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) – who they lost to on Sunday – in the AFC North race.
You can see that getting win No. 9 on Monday would be huge for the Chargers.
The health of quarterback Justin Herbert also will be key against the Eagles.
Herbert has a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) hand and underwent surgery last Monday afternoon. He had a plate and multiple screws inserted into the hand. He was a limited practice participant all week as the Chargers did all they could to keep him away from contact.
Most of the snaps on Monday will undoubtedly come out of the shotgun formation and Herbert has definitely taken a whatever-it-takes outlook.
“I’m doing everything I can to be out there,” Herbert said. “I’d fight through anything for those guys. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be realistic and listen to the doctors, because they know best. We’ll see how it goes.”
Herbert has passed for 2,842 yards and 21 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and is firmly established among the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.
At age 27, Herbert already has thrown 158 career touchdown passes. Only John Hadl (201), Hall of Famer Dan Fouts (254) and leader Philip Rivers (397) have accumulated more for the franchise.
But we are reaching the point where Herbert needs to lead some playoff runs. He’s in his sixth season and has never won a playoff game. And right now, the sudden decline of the Chiefs is opening the door for other AFC teams.
It also doesn’t hurt that the Broncos and New England Patriots are the surprise top two teams in the conference through Week 14.
The Chargers haven’t won a single playoff game since the 2018 season. That’s so long ago that Rivers, Antonio Gates and Melvin Gordon played for the club.
And who can forget that humiliating collapse in Jacksonville when Herbert and the 2022 edition of the franchise blew a 27-point lead and lost 31-30 on a Jaguars field goal as time expired?
And last season? Herbert threw four interceptions during a one-sided 32-12 playoff loss to the Texans.
So if the Chargers are going to be a serious contender for, say, an AFC Championship Game appearance, they need to beat the Eagles. The late-season run unofficially begins Monday.
