While the ongoing offensive woes of the Eagles piled up in Week 14 at a breakneck speed - in the form of misfires, fumbles, drops, and interceptions - the defense arrived ready to execute and attack.
Once again, a defensive unit that has shouldered so much of the burden and done virtually all of the heavy lifting every week came out firing in the Eagles' 22-19 overtime defeat to the host Los Angeles Chargers.
And despite the dark cloud cast amid an absurd five Eagles turnovers on offense, a resounding bright spot emerged on the other side of the ball, as defensive tackle Byron Young rendered a monster performance in the trenches.
Byron Young stepped up in a big way after Jalen Carter's absence
Filling in for the injured Jalen Carter, the former third-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders, once added as a depth piece off waivers, hunted down Justin Herbert and the opposition all evening long en route to eight tackles, 1.5 sacks (tied team-high), a fumble recovery, one tackle for loss, and two QB hits.
For the second week in a row, Young registered crucial snaps in the defensive line rotation, notching 32 snaps versus the Chargers (43%) after racking up 38 snaps (44%) in Week 13's tilt against Chicago.
And in Monday night's affair, Young was an absolute terror to contend with.
Pivotal plays by the former second-team All-SEC performer out of Alabama included a key fumble recovery in second-quarter action off a Nakobe Dean strip sack, and credited sacks in both the second and third quarters. In the ground game, #94 also barreled into the backfield time and again. With Jordan Davis 1.5 sacks) turning up the heat inside as well, Young and company helped offset the absence of Carter, who has now missed three games this season.
With Carter's consistent availability remaining uncertain moving forward, Young's emergence will be critical.
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And while the miscues and many shortcomings of the offense continue to dominate the headlines, tireless defenders like Young are fighting to keep the imperiled playoff aspirations of the defending Super Bowl champions alive.