CHARGERS EDGE REIGNING EAGLES CHAMPIONS EAGLES AFTER DEFENSIVE SHOW

Tony Jefferson, center, of the Los Angeles Chargers intercepts a pass in overtime intended for Philadelphia's Jahan Dotson, left, and the Chargers beat the Eagles 22-19 in overtime in an NFL game (RONALD MARTINEZ)
 

Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over Philadelphia on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders.

Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers.

Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime.

The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third consecutive loss.

"The defense played incredible. They came up with so many big stops," Herbert said. "I'm so proud to be able to play for those guys.

"Not the way we drew it up but the battle in these guys is so much fun. They never quit. It's fun to be a part of. We'll have to keep getting better at it and keep moving forward."

Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley ran 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 16-13 lead nine seconds into the fourth quarter.

Dicker kicked a 31-yard field goal, Philadelphia's Jake Elliott answered for 44 yards but Dicker kicked connected on a 46-yard field goal with eight seconds to play in regulation to force overtime at 19-19.

After Dicker kicked the winner 3:36 into the extra session, the Eagles faced a must-score drive and were rescued on a fourth-down penalty by the Chargers.

Philadelphia drove to the LA 17-yard line but a Hurts pass was deflected by LA's Cam Hart and Jefferson made the grab for the game's eighth and final turnover to end the game.

"It's just staying in it, every yard matters, every play matters," Jefferson said.

"It was a team effort. We did what we had to do to get the stop."

Jefferson praised Herbert, who wears number 10, for his gritty comeback just to play.

"We'll ride or die for number 10," Jefferson said.

"He's literally the strongest, most willed quarterback I've ever been around. Nothing is too big for him. Broken hand. Surgery. Out there practicing the next couple days. Much respect."

Herbert said after the game, "I feel pretty good."

- 'Going to sting' -

The reigning champion Eagles saw their lead over Dallas in the NFC East shrink to 1.5 games despite Barkley running 20 times for 122 yards and a touchdown.

"We know we've got to be better," Barkley said. "We continue to beat ourselves. We're not doing the little things right, not focusing on the details.

"Last year was last year. That was a good team. We've got to move on. This one is going to sting."

In the AFC playoff chase, the Indianapolis Colts suffered a major blow to their playoff bid when Daniel Jones was confirmed Monday to have a torn right Achilles tendon.

The quarterback will have season-ending surgery later this week.

 - AFP

LARGEST QUARTERBACK CONTRACTS IN TERMS OF AAV

 

HIGHEST-PAID QBS | GUARANTEED MONEY

 

HIGHEST-PAID NFL PLAYERS: MOST GUARANTEED MONEY AT EVERY POSITION

 Who are the NFL's highest-paid players at every position? Plenty of record-setting deals have been made in the past year -- the quarterback position has been reset with a new highest-paid player four times. First Jalen Hurts, then Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert and finally Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in NFL history as the 2023 season kicked off.

In August, Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson reset the tight end market and San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa became the highest-paid defensive player. In June, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson shattered the record for most guaranteed money given to a non-quarterback on offense, getting $110 million guaranteed.

We tracked the best-paid players at 16 different positions -- including long-snapper -- and will keep the numbers updated as more records get broken. To get the full picture on the top earners in this league, we sorted positions by two categories, which in a few cases have the same player at No. 1:

Three-year average (APY)

Total guaranteed money

Salary information courtesy of Roster Management System.

Let's start with Burrow and the highest-paid quarterbacks:

Quarterback

Highest three-year APY:

1. Joe Burrow, $62.9 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2030)

2. Jared Goff (DET), $57.3 million

3. Trevor Lawrence (JAX), $55 million

4. Justin Herbert (LAC), $53.3 million

5. Lamar Jackson (BAL), $52 million

6. Jalen Hurts (PHI), $51 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Deshaun Watson, $230 million

Signed: March 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Joe Burrow (CIN), $219.01 million

3. Patrick Mahomes (KC), $208.1 million

4. Trevor Lawrence (JAX), $200 million

5. Justin Herbert (LAC), $193.7 million

6. Kyler Murray (ARI), $189.5 million

Running back

Highest three-year APY:

1. Christian McCaffrey, $17.2 million

Signed: April 2020 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $14 million

3. Alvin Kamara (NO), $12.7 million

4. Saquon Barkley (PHI), $12.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Christian McCaffrey, $36.3 million

Signed: April 2020 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Alvin Kamara (NO), $34.3 million

3. Jonathan Taylor (IND), $26.5 million

4. Saquon Barkley (PHI), $26 million

Wide receiver

Highest three-year APY:

1. Justin Jefferson, $35 million

Signed: June 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. A.J. Brown (PHI), $32 million

3. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $30 million

4. Jaylen Waddle (MIA), $28.3 million

5. Cooper Kupp (LAR), $26.7 million

6. Stefon Diggs (HOU), $26.2 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Justin Jefferson, $110 million

Signed: June 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. A.J. Brown (PHI), $84 million

3. Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET), $77 million

4. Jaylen Waddle (MIA), $76 million

5. Cooper Kupp (LAR), $75 million

6. Tyreek Hill (MIA), $72.2 million

Tight end

Highest three-year APY:

1. Travis Kelce, $17.1 million

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Darren Waller (NYG), $17 million

3. T.J. Hockenson (MIN), $16 million

4. George Kittle (SF), $15.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. T.J. Hockenson, $42.5 million

Signed: August 2023 (contract ends in 2027)

2. George Kittle (SF), $40 million

3. Mark Andrews (BAL), $37.6 million

Offensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

1. Penei Sewell, $28 million

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Laremy Tunsil (HOU), $25 million

3. Andrew Thomas (NYG), $24.2 million

4. Ronnie Stanley (BAL), $21.2 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Penei Sewell, $85 million

Signed: April 2024 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Ronnie Stanley (BAL), $64.1 million

3. Andrew Thomas (NYG), $61.9 million

4. Ryan Ramczyk (NO), $60.2 million

Guard

Highest three-year APY:

1. Chris Lindstrom, $21.8 million

Signed: March 2023 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Robert Hunt (CAR), $21 million

3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $20.9 million

4. Mike Onwenu (NE), $19 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Robert Hunt, $63 million

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Chris Lindstrom (ATL), $62.7 million

3. Quenton Nelson (IND), $60 million

Center

Highest three-year APY:

1. Frank Ragnow, $14 million

Signed: May 2021 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Lloyd Cushenberry (TEN), $12.6 million

3. Erik McCoy (NO), $12.5 million

4. Ryan Kelly (IND), $12.4 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Frank Ragnow, $42 million

Signed: May 2021 (contract ends in 2026)

2. Ryan Kelly (IND), $34 million

3. Erik McCoy (NO), $33 million

4. Lloyd Cushenberry (TEN), $30 million

Cornerback

Highest three-year APY:

1. Jaire Alexander, $21.8 million

Signed: May 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Jalen Ramsey (MIA), $20.6 million

3. Marshon Lattimore (NO), $20.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Denzel Ward, $71.25 million

Signed: April 2022 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Jalen Ramsey (MIA), $71.2 million

3. Marshon Lattimore (NO), $68.3 million

Safety

Highest three-year APY:

1. Antoine Winfield Jr., $21.03 million

Signed: May 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Derwin James Jr. (LAC), $19.6 million

3. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $18.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Antoine Winfield Jr., $45 million

Signed: May 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2.Derwin James Jr. (LAC), $42 million

T3. Minkah Fitzpatrick (PIT), $36 million

T3. Jessie Bates III (ATL), $36 million

Edge rusher

Highest three-year APY:

1. Nick Bosa, $34.7 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. T.J. Watt (PIT), $30.5 million

T3. Josh Allen (JAX), $30 million

T3. Brian Burns (NYG), $30 million

4. Myles Garrett (CLE), $26.7 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Nick Bosa, $119.9 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends in 2029)

2. Myles Garrett (CLE), $100 million

3. Josh Allen (JAX), $88 million

4. Brian Burns (NYG), $87.5 million

Defensive tackle

Highest three-year APY:

1. Chris Jones, $31.7 millon

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Aaron Donald (LAR), $31.6 million

3. Christian Wilkins (LV), $28 million

4. Derrick Brown (CAR), $24 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Chris Jones, $101 million

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends in 2028)

2. Christian Wilkins (LV), $82.7 million

3. Quinnen Williams (NYJ), $66 million

4. Aaron Donald (LAR), $65 million

Off-ball linebacker

Highest three-year APY:

1. Roquan Smith, $20 million

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Fred Warner (SF), $19.5 million

3. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $19 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Roquan Smith, $60 million

Signed: January 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. C.J. Mosley (NYJ), $51 million

3. Tremaine Edmunds (CHI), $45 million

Kicker

Highest three-year APY:

1. Justin Tucker, $6.2 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Matt Gay (IND), $5.9 million

3. Chris Boswell (PIT), $5.6 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Justin Tucker, $17.5 million

Signed: August 2022 (contract ends in 2027)

2. Graham Gano (NYG), $13.2 million

2. Matt Gay (IND), $13 million

Long-snapper

Highest three-year APY:

1. Luke Rhodes, $1.67 million

Signed: September 2023 (contract ends 2027)

2. Joe Cardona (NE), $1.63 million

3. Zach Wood (NO), $1.62 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Tyler Ott, $2.8 million

Signed: March 2024 (contract ends 2026)

2. Thomas Hennessy, $2.62 million

3.Joe Cardona (NE), $2.6 million

Punter

Highest three-year APY:

1. Michael Dickson, $3.9 million

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $3.6 million

3. Tress Way (WSH), $3.3 million

Total guaranteed money:

1. Michael Dickson, $8.5 million

Signed: June 2021 (contract ends in 2025)

2. Jack Fox (DET), $7.5 million

2. Tress Way (WSH), $6.4 million

- ESPN staff