Live updates/open thread recap: Chargers 27, Eagles 24

The Philadelphia Eagles avoided hitting rock bottom last Sunday in Detroit, when they pummeled the winless Lions. If the Birds can muster another win this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, they'll improve to 4-5, and will be in a decent position to contend for the playoffs in the NFC.

In an odd scheduling choice by the NFL, we'll have to wait until late afternoon for this kickoff. In the meantime, the most relevant games to the Eagles during the early Sunday slate are Broncos-Cowboys, in case anyone is still delusional about the Eagles' chances of winning the NFC East, and Texas-Dolphins, for draft positioning purposes.

The Eagles will enter their matchup against the Chargers without four starters, but they only have one player listed on their final Friday injury report. The Chargers, meanwhile, have some significant injuries in their secondary and on their offensive line. You can find the final Eagles-Chargers injury report here.

As we noted in our five matchups to watch, the Chargers have the worst run defense in the NFL, though it's worth noting that they invite the run. Will they once again again invite the run against an Eagles offense that runs the ball well, but not much else, or will injuries in their secondary convince their staff to continue on with their bend-don't-break approach?  

The Eagles are 1.5-point underdogs. Here are our staff writer picks — as well as who some others around the country are picking. For the gambling enthusiasts, you can find my Week 9 picks here and some over/unders for Sunday right here.

Feel free to discuss the game in the comments below the live tracker:

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