Eagles-Rams preview: Five things to watch when the Eagles have the ball

The Philadelphia Eagles' Divisional Round opponent will be the Los Angeles Rams, who the Eagles blew out Week 12 in L.A. They scored 37 points, racked up 481 yards, and didn't turn the ball over. The Rams finished 26th in regular season defensive DVOA, however, if you don't include a Week 18 loss to the Seahawks during which they rested starters, the Rams have allowed single-digit points in each of their last four games.

Here are our five things to watch, when the Eagles have the ball.

1) Saquon Barkley vs. the Rams' run defense

In the Week 12 matchup, Barkley carried 26 times for 255 yards (9.8 YPC) and 2 TDs. He popped a couple of 70+ yard TD runs. The first one was on the first play of the second half:

The second one was late in the game with the Rams packing the box (via @AryiPulliNFL):

Take out those two runs and Barkley still had 24 carries for 113 yards, lol.

The Rams' run defense was bad for the better part of the 2024 season:

The only team in the playoffs with a worse rushing yards allowed per game average was the Washington Commanders (135.4 per game).

However, during the aforementioned four-game stretch when they allowed single-digit points to their opponents, their run defense was better:

They allowed just 89.3 rushing yards per game and no rushing TDs during that stretch.

Spoiler: With the way the Eagles pushed the Rams' front around in that Week 12 game, you can be certain that stopping the run will be the Rams' primary focus in this matchup.

2) Jalen Hurts' propensity for holding onto the football vs. the Rams' young, talented pass rushers

The Rams had 9 sacks in the Wild Card Round against the Vikings, which you can watch here:

Some of those sacks were well-timed blitz calls, some were Rams pass rushers winning one-on-ones, and some were just because Sam Darnold stinks and he wouldn't throw the damn ball.

The Rams' starting front four of Byron Young, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, and Kobie Turner combined for 28.5 sacks, though none of them had double-digit sacks individually.

Of course, the Eagles have the best offensive line in the NFL, with two All-Pros (Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata), two additional Pro Bowlers (Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson), and a fifth guy (Mekhi Becton) who is going to make a lot of money in free agency this offseason. This matchup isn't so much about the Eagles' ability to block well, it's more about whether Jalen Hurts can get the ball out quickly.

The three slowest quarterbacks to get the ball out in the NFL this season, per NextGen Stats, were Lamar Jackson (3.14 seconds per throw), Hurts (3.13 seconds) , and oh hey (!), Darnold (3.08 seconds).

The Rams had a good gameplan for Darnold's slow decision-making process, which the Eagles will be able to get a good look at on film this week. Some unsolicited advance for Kellen Moore and the gang: Maybe run some slants with A.J. Brown.

3) A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith vs. the Rams' cornerbacks

The Rams' cornerback situation is unsettled at the moment. They recently benched Cobie Durant in favor of Ahkello Witherspoon, who left the Vikings game with a thigh injury in the second half and did not return. If Witherspoon can't play on Sunday, the Rams will field one of the smallest CB duos in the NFL. Darious Williams (5'9, 187) and Durant (5'11, 180), should be at a disadvantage against contested catch artists like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Smith didn't play against the Rams Week 12, and the Rams didn't have a corner travel all day with Brown, who beat a variety of defensive backs that day. The Rams also struggled getting Brown to the ground after the catch. He finished with 6 receptions for 109 yards and a TD, shown here:

If Witherspoon plays, he would at least give the Rams some size, at 6'2, 195. However, if you'll recall, Brown embarrassed Witherspoon all day when Witherspoon played for the Steelers in 2022:

As a team, the Rams' pass defense wasn't very good this season: 

Rams pass D	Stat	Rank
Opposing passing yards / game	219.5	19
Opposing completion %	65.1%	14
Opposing YPA	6.8	22
Opposing passing TDs per game	1.7	26
Opposing passer rating	94.6	19
DVOA	12.5%	25

So, again, they weren't particularly good against the run or the pass this season, at least until recently.

4) Dallas Goedert and Saquon Barkley vs. the Rams' linebackers

Goedert could be something of an X factor in the playoffs, in that he was something of a forgotten man because of all the time he missed during the regular season. As you saw in the Eagles' win over the Packers in the Wild Card Round, Goedert made the biggest play of the night offensively.

The Eagles should keep feeding him, particularly if the Eagles can get him -- or Barkley, for that matter -- matched up against the Rams' linebackers. Per PFF, when opposing offenses targeted Rams LBs Christian Rozeboom and Omar Speights this season, they allowed 71 catches on 87 targets (81.6%) for 755 yards (8.7 YPA) and 3 TDs. Attack those guys.

5) Jake Elliott remains a concern

During pregame warmups on Sunday, I watched as Elliott pushed at least two kicks right (maybe more - I have a sideline view from the press box, so it's not a great angle). During the game, he pulled a PAT wide left. 

If there's a debatable decision to go for it or kick a field goal, Nick Sirianni must realize that kicking the field goal isn't exactly "taking the points" with the way that Elliott has struggled this season, and should ramp up his aggressiveness on the Rams' side of the field on fourth down.

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