The Eagles (8-4) are facing the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) on Monday Night Football. Let’s get to the predictions: Reuben Frank (8-4) I believe the Eagles are the better team, but that’s not always enough. This Eagles team hasn’t lived up to expectations, and while a lot of teams woul d be thrilled to be sitting here at 8-4 going into Week 14 and a near-lock to win the division and reach the playoffs, the standards are different at the NovaCare Complex and since a 4-0 start this is a .500 team at 4-4, with all four losses coming in somewhat horrifying fashion. The Chargers aren’t an elite team by any means, but they’re solid on both sides of the ball, and I’ve just seen too many issues with the Eagles lately to feel confident in their ability to beat a good team on the road right now. They aren’t pressuring off the edge. They aren’t stopping the run. They aren’t getting enough takeaways. They can’t run the ball. They don’t throw it consistently. If they play up to their talent level, the Eagles beat the Chargers. But too often lately they haven’t done that.  Chargers 23, Eagles 17 Dave Zangaro (7-5) I’d be lying if I said I had a ton of confidence in the Eagles going into this game. We spent a lot of this week talking about the important matchups against the Chargers but this isn’t about the Chargers. This is about the Eagles and whether or not they can get out of their own way. We’re in Week 14 so it just doesn’t look like there’s some magic switch to flip on offense but I just have a hard time believing it’s going to look like this the rest of the year because there’s just too much talent. I think the Eagles need to get Jalen Hurts’ legs more involved in the game plan and in a huge situation to avoid a three-game losing streak, I think they do. Defensively, I don’t expect a repeat of last week where they couldn’t stop the run. I actually still have a ton of faith in the defense. If the Eagles win this game, it feels more likely to be a lower scoring game with neither team getting into the 30s. Eagles 24, Chargers 20 Barrett Brooks (7-5) The Eagles, in my book, are in must-win mode. I can’t believe the Birds have yet to find an identity. OK, let me say they have an identity — so I want them to change it. They are so undisciplined. There are too many times where drives are stalled because of penalties, especially pre-snap penalties. The Eagles’ offense is top five in 3-and-outs. The majority of the time, it’s jumping offsides and illegal formation penalties. The offensive line has been awful this year on the line of scrimmage. They have totally forgotten how to double team and secure the line of scrimmage first, then get to the linebackers at the second level. Defensively, Vic Fangio has to get penetration up front on the line of scrimmage. Last week vs. the Bears, we were destroyed by their O-line. Their offensive line double teamed the Birds’ defensive line back into the linebackers’ laps! Both Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun had O-linemen in their face the entire game. OK, enough complaining: my Birds get back to business, dominating the run game and stopping the run! We dominate and run the table the rest of the season. Eagles 24, Chargers 21 Mike Mulhern (8-4) I almost would’ve preferred that the Cowboys won on Thursday to add a little extra pressure to the Eagles. Now it seems like they can coast to the division title and a home playoff game without making any material improvement. If they go 3-2 the rest of the way, they repeat as NFC East champs no matter what Dallas does. Jalen Carter can recover after a shoulder procedure. Maybe Lane Johnson sits out an extra game or two. You can gear everything towards January and hopefully flip a switch. I just don’t know if the Eagles have it in them this season. You need to run the ball and stop the run to go deep in the postseason. The results of late indicate the Eagles can’t do either. They’ve been propped up by taking care of the ball and an unsustainable red zone success rate. Jalen Hurts’ tush push fumble was both of those stats coming back to earth a bit. No matter how hard you coach it, there’s some luck involved in turnovers. And if you aren’t regularly successful on offense, you probably aren’t going to dial up winners every time you get past the 20-yard line. Monday night will be a true litmus test for where this team is at after yet another mini bye. Indications are that Justin Herbert will be starting. Jim Harbaugh wants his team to play physically. The Eagles got pushed around by the Bears. If that happens again, I think a complete collapse is in play, but I’ll give the “Positivity Bunny” one chance to change the vibes. Eagles 23, Chargers 16  Ashlyn Sullivan (7-5)The Eagles get back on track this week against a Chargers team that has the same record… but is a product of an easy schedule. This game is a great measuring stick to see where this Eagles team actually is. the Chargers are middle of the pack in basically every statistical category. I think we all know at this point the Eagles offense isn’t all a sudden going to look miraculously explosive, we know they are going to have to win a lot of close games this season. What does need to improve: the Eagles’ defense getting absolutely gashed the past two weeks. The Eagles have allowed over 400 yards of offense in consecutive games for the first time under Vic Fangio. Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo will have to step up with the absence of Jalen Carter. If that happens and we don’t see a huge drop off, I think the Eagles’ defense wins another game for their team. Eagles 34, Chargers 27 ...read more read less