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Your regularly-scheduled "Monday Night Football" game for Week 5 is still taking place. There won't be a double-header featuring the and in the early slot, but the and will still square off. and company got off to a slow start to the 2020 season but have evened their record at 2-2, and will be looking to keep pace with the and in the NFC South. The Chargers, meanwhile, are simply looking to avoid falling into Brevin Jordan Jersey the basement of the AFC West.Let's break down the matchup -- but first -- let's recap how you can follow along and watch it unfold.Date:Monday, Oct. 12 |Time:8:15 p.m. ETLocation:Mercedes-Benz SuperdomeTV:ESPN|Stream:fuboTV ( )Follow:Now officially the Chargers' starting quarterback, has exceeded expectations through the first three starts of his career. Herbert will billed as a high-level talent who could become a long-term starter eventually, but would probably need to spend the year on the bench in order to get up to speed. That's how the Chargers saw him, too, which is why they steadfastly maintained until this week that would be under center once he returned from injury. But Herbert's play so far has to make the Chargers feel pretty good about the pick. He's completed at least two thirds of his pa ses in each of his three starts, while averaging a truly excellent 8.7 yards per attempt. He's been picked three times, but picks happen. He's shown off terrific arm strength, both on deep pa ses and on throws from the opposite hash to the wide side of the field. He's clearly locked onto No. 1 wideout as his top target -- which is good because Allen is awesome and pretty much always open.What he'll see when looking down the field on Monday night is still in question, because star Saints corner (who hasn't really played like a star this year) is listed as questionable. , the team's other outside corner, has already been declared out, which means P.J. Williams and will likely play on the perimeter while C.J. Gardner-Johnson mans the slot. That leaves Gardner-Johnson matched up with Allen more often than not, because the Chargers' No. 1 guy runs a plurality of his routes (44 percent, per Pro Football Focus) from the Nico Collins Jersey inside. With still injured, it'll be , , , and po sibly rookies K.J. Hill and/or getting the work on the outside.Because that crew is not very imposing -- and for another reason we'll get to in a minute -- it seems likely that Herbert will look to work the matchups with Allen, his running backs, and tight end in the short areas of the field. Henry is a mismatch for most linebackers and/or safeties over the middle, though the Saints have one of the stronger up-the-middle pa s defense groups in the league with linebackers (one of the best coverage backers in the league) and , plus and at safety. That foursome will likely be primarily responsible for taking away Henry up the seam, plus and on any routes out of the backfield. Because the Chargers once again have ma sive i sues along the offensive line, it doesn't seem likely Herbert will get much of a chance to push the ball downfield. and are both out for this Pharaoh Brown Jersey game due to injuries; they made up the improved right side of the LA offensive line, and now they won't be on the field at all. The left side of the line was already suspect, so now the Chargers just have a bad line in front of their young quarterback.Saints defensive linemen and are listed as questionable after getting in limited practices during the week and if they don't suit up that would obviously benefit LA; but New Orleans still has , (off to an excellent start), , , and more up front. That group could and should cause a lot of problems for the Chargers' line, which in turn seems likely to cause problems for Herbert. It's po sible the Chargers try to go with a more run-focused game plan to account for the likely weakne ses in pa s protection and lack of depth at wideout, but it's not like they can expect to do much better clearing the road in the run game. Plus, their No. 1 running back ( ) is out as well, leaving them with two backs who are not quite as dynamic.It seemed like the Saints were on track to get star wide receiver back from a multi-week injury, but a practice altercation with Gardner-Johnson that apparently saw Thomas throw a punch at his teammate resulted in his being benched for the game by the team. He's not the only major contributor to Houston Texans Women Jersey the New Orleans pa s game that will be absent, either, as tight end will mi s his second consecutive contest as well. That means Drew Brees will once again be working with a limited crew of weapons, both over the middle and on the outside. and will get the majority of the work at wide receiver, with working in on occasion as well. They will each face difficult matchups against the trio of , , and . King should move back into the slot after the injury to Chris Harris Jr., while Hayward takes up his usual spot at left corner and Davis mans the right side. New Orleans moves its receivers all over the formation so there aren't any expected shadow matchups here.The Saints used the combination of and Adam Trautman at tight end last week, though neither was heavily targeted in a game where they focused on the run. Hill got the majority of the snaps and targets at the position, though Trautman is the more athletic of the two players and could provide an additional element to the pa sing game if the Saints are struggling to get anything going. And of course, being that it's a primetime game, you always have to be aware of the po sibility that the Saints will get involved -- whether as a receiver, a runner, or even a quarterback.But if the way they played last week is any indication, New Orleans will likely want to control this game on the ground. and combined for 37 touches against the in Week 4, totaling 202 yards and three touchdowns. Murray was getting a bunch of the early-down work to spare Kamara some of the workload he was expected to carry throughout the game, and that ended up working out pretty well for New Orleans. The Chargers have been slightly stingier against the run this season than they have against the pa s, but the New Orleans offensive line is one of the best units in the league and should be able to clear Davis Mills Jersey the way for Kamara and Murray on occasion. Pro Football Focus had this game as its second-biggest offensive line vs. defensive line mismatch in the run game this week, a good sign for the Saints being able to control the game in that fashion, just as they did a week ago.Prediction: Saints 24, Chargers 20 |
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发表于 2024-3-3 10:34:31