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Rapoport did add one final, “assuming health-wise he is all good,” caveat. Seven weeks removed from his high-ankle sprain, we fully expect McCarthy will be good to go for Week 9. Carson Wentz was given every opportunity to keep the starting job. Things began on a high note with wins over the Bengals and Browns in his first three starts. His play, however, quickly spiraled out of control, culminating in a close loss to the Eagles two weeks ago and a blowout at the hands of the Chargers on Thursday. Wentz tallied seven sacks and three interceptions in the pair of losses. His left shoulder injury also reached a breaking point at the end of Thursday’s game and he was pulled for rookie Max Brosmer in garbage time. McCarthy struggled to start the year before getting hurt, but Kevin O’Connell has been working closely with him to get the young quarterback ready for his return to action. A Week 9 date with Detroit will be a true test of McCarthy’s quarterback whisperer reputation.

Brown’s solid fantasy performance was mired by a couple key plays. Early in the first quarter, Brown was seen “taking a play off” on a screen to DeVonta Smith, missing two opportunities to lay a block. Smith was tackled for a minimal gain. Later in the game, Brown saw a pass deflect off his hands and into the defender’s, resulting in one of four Jalen Hurts interceptions on the evening. Brown has now hit the 100-yard threshold in three consecutive games, all three of which were losses by the Eagles. He’ll get a much more forgiving matchup in Week 15 against the Raiders.

Barkley was churning out consistently mediocre gains prior to the 52-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter, which would go down as the only touchdown of the game for the Eagles. His breakaway run came on a feigned tush push on third and one in which quarterback Jalen Hurts pitched the ball to Barkley on the edge. Barkley exploded through the first level and was off to the races. While fantasy managers can’t complain with the returns in a difficult matchup, the explosive run against the Chargers was only his third rush for more than 20 yards this season after notching 17 such carries in 2024. He’ll get a much softer matchup on the ground against the Raiders in Week 15.

Hurts also lost a fumble in the five-turnover night, two of which came on the same play in the second quarter. Chargers defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand picked Hurts but lost the football while taken to the ground. Hurts then recovered the fumble only to lose it himself, which was then recovered by the Chargers on a bizarre three-turnover play, with two of them charged to Hurts. The rarity of the play contributed to five combined turnovers from each team within the span of 11 offensive plays. The final turnover committed by Hurts was an interception to end the game in overtime after Cameron Dicker kicked the Chargers into the lead on the opening possession of the extra frame. The five turnovers go down as the most in a single game in Jalen Hurts’ career, while the four interceptions doubled the two he had thrown through 12 games this season. Losers of three straight, Hurts and the Eagles maintain a 1.5-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East with four games left to play. They get a much more forgiving opponent in Week 15 when they face the floundering Raiders at home.

The 44-year-old quarterback last played in 2020 as a member of the Colts. The now-quarterback-needy team are seriously considering bringing him back as veteran depth behind Riley Leonard, a notion that appears as outlandish as it does potentially brilliant. That said, Leonard is currently dealing with a knee ligament injury that could hold him out of the team’s Week 15 game against the Seahawks. Rivers, a surefire Hall of Fame candidate, would be first eligible in the next induction class but could see his clock reset should he gain eligibility in 2025. Stay tuned as this outrageous story develops.

Johnson had already been ruled out earlier in the week, targeting Week 15 against the Raiders as his potential return date. Philadelphia’s offensive struggles have been exacerbated with the veteran’s absence, something that could come to a head against the league’s third-ranked defense on Monday Night Football.

Confirming previous reports, Herbert will suit up against the Eagles just seven days after having surgery on his non-throwing hand to repair a broken bone. Expect the veteran quarterback to operate almost exclusively from shotgun, something that influence play calling tendencies. Inactive for the Chargers are CB Nikko Reed, LB Kyle Kennard, T Austin Deculus, WR Dalevon Campbell, TE Tyler Conklin, and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

Per Ruiz, Herbert is expected to play while wearing a padded glove on his surgically repaired left hand. The veteran quarterback was seen warming up with the glove about two hours prior to kickoff for Monday Night Football. Herbert will remarkably play after breaking his non-throwing hand in Week 13, having undergone surgery to address the issue Monday.

Beat writer Greg Auman reports that the Buccaneers may be without Bredeson “for multiple weeks” after the sixth-year tackle suffered a knee injury in Week 14’s loss to the Saints. Auman said the absence could be long enough to warrant Bredson landing on injured reserve, which would end his season. Bredeson has started all 11 games he’s appeared in this season, earning a PFF grade of 53.7 while allowing 20 pressures and one sack. Elijah Klein is listed behind Bredeson on the depth chart and will presumably draw the start on Thursday night against the Falcons.