INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert stiff-armed the opposition with his broken left hand, the defense forced big plays and the Los Angeles Chargers eked out a victory to move within two games of first place in the AFC West.
Cameron Dicker kicked a go-ahead 54-yard field goal — one of his five in the game — and Tony Jefferson intercepted Jalen Hurts at the 1-yard line in overtime of a messy 22-19 victory over the slumping Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
"What a team we have, they refuse to lose,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh effused, putting the win “in the discussion of the birth of my seven children, my marriage.”
The Chargers (9-4) overcame Odafe Oweh's penalty on a neutral zone infraction that gave the Eagles a first down on 4th and 4. Two plays later, Hurts threw deep to Jahan Dotson in double-coverage only to have Jefferson keep his feet in bounds on the game-ending play.
“Last night, we were talking, me and the corners, and you can ask Cam (Hart), I literally spoke this one into existence,” Jefferson said. “I told him, ‘Tip me the ball, I’ll be there.' The football gods are looking out for me.”
Hurts threw four interceptions and the the defending Super Bowl champions lost their season-worst third in a row and fell to 8-5.
Dicker's 46-yard field goal with 12 seconds left sent the game to the 10-minute extra session tied 19-19 after Jake Elliott's 44-yarder minutes earlier had put the Eagles ahead 19-16. Dicker was 5 for 5.
Elliott also kicked field goals of 54, 30 and 41 yards at SoFi Stadium, where the Eagles' green-and-white jerseys dotted the crowd.
Saquon Barkley gave the Eagles their first lead with a 52-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter that made it 16-13. He ran for a combined 78 yards in the Eagles’ losses to the Cowboys and Bears before notching 122 on 20 carries for just the second time this season. He had 150 yards against the New York Giants on Oct. 26.
Herbert was 12 of 26 for 138 yards, one touchdown and one interception with a career-worst seven sacks. He also ran for 66 yards on 10 carries.
“He’s a superhero. He’s a competitive maniac,” Harbaugh said. “It felt like we were in a movie and you get to the point where you go, ‘OK, this is getting a little unrealistic.’”
Herbert said he knew he was going to play against the Eagles as early as last Sunday, even before his surgery.
“The first couple days were kind of tough, getting the swelling down and be able to grip,” he said. “I did everything I could to hold onto the ball.”
Jefferson said, “He's just a warrior.”
Hurts was 21 of 40 for 240 yards and four interceptions. In the first quarter, he had two turnovers on the same play as part of a chaotic sequence in which he was intercepted and he fumbled. Da’Shawn Hand picked off Hurts and then fumbled the ball before Hurts recovered and the quarterback fumbled and Troy Dye recovered to give the Chargers possession.
“We lost the game," Hurts said, "and I didn’t play well enough to help us to win the game."
The Eagles had five turnovers and six penalties for 53 yards.
“I thought the defense did a lot of good things and the offense moved the ball against a really good defense, but we didn’t finish,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We kicked a lot of field goals and had some turnovers. It’s hard to beat a team on the road when you’re not finishing drives and getting three points. I have to put that on myself.”
The Chargers tied the score 16-16 on Dicker's 31-yard field goal with 7:26 remaining in the fourth.
Eagles: LG Landon Dickerson left with a calf injury in the third quarter.
Chargers: WR Derius Davis sustained an ankle injury, and RT Trey Pipkins III (ankle) left in the second quarter. ... S Derwin James Jr. was evaluated for a head injury, but returned soon after in the second. ... S Elijah Molden (hamstring) left the game in the third.
Eagles: Host Las Vegas on Sunday.
Chargers: Visit Kansas City on Sunday. The Chiefs lost 27-21 in the teams' season opener in Brazil.
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