Make California Post a Preferred Source The playbook Philadelphia is supposedly the city of brotherly love.
Los Angeles heads back to The Linc on Sunday for another date with an Eagles team that has become less of an occasional opponent and more of an annual tormentor. The Rams have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11 against Philadelphia, including last season’s stomach-turning defeat that saw the Eagles block two field goals — including the potential game-winner — that turned into a walk-off special teams touchdown.
Both teams are looking to rebound after tough losses last week. The Rams arrive at 1-2 following another painful ending in Denver, where Josh Wallace appeared to make the game-clinching interception only to be flagged for defensive pass interference. Sean McVay said on Wednesday that the NFL agreed the play should not have been ruled a penalty.
Wonderful. Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. Now hang that apology in the Louvre because it doesn’t change the giant “L” in the standings for Los Angeles.
McVay knows that too, which is why despite how frustrated and upset he was after the loss, his message all week was refreshingly simple: “That game is over with. Move forward. It’s time to go.”
The Eagles were embarrassed 27-7 by Chicago on Monday Night Football, allowing 38-year-old backup quarterback Case Keenum to torch them to the tune of 247 yards and two touchdowns. Philadelphia couldn’t get consistent pressure on the journeyman, couldn’t force a turnover and couldn’t generate enough offense to get out of Chicago with the win.
So what happens when the reigning NFL MVP arrives this week?
Matthew Stafford also needs to rebound from his performance against the Broncos. After shredding the Giants in Week 2, Stafford threw two interceptions against Denver, including a record-breaking pick-six that flipped the game. He was also sacked four times.
The good news for Stafford is that reinforcements are on the way.
Puka Nacua returned to practice Wednesday, and McVay said he expects his All-Pro receiver to play after missing the last two games. That reunites Stafford with Nacua and Davante Adams, who has posted consecutive 100-yard games while proving the Rams didn’t need to put their offense in storage while Puka recovered.
Aaron Donald missed Wednesday’s practice with back soreness. Jaylen Watson is out with a shoulder injury, leaving Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. with considerably more responsibility against Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith. Tight ends Terrance Ferguson and Colby Parkinson also missed practice.
Barkley has made a habit of tormenting Los Angeles, and although he faded after a strong first half against Chicago, he still rushed for 82 yards. With former Rams backup quarterback Sean Mannion now coordinating Philadelphia’s offense, the Eagles know exactly where Los Angeles has been vulnerable.
These two teams have played four times in the last three seasons. McVay is 1-6 against the Eagles since becoming Rams coach. The last victory at Lincoln Field came in 2020.
Week 4 shouldn’t be a must-win game. Yet it still feels like one.
These two preseason Super Bowl hopefuls are trying to clean up ugly losses before they find themselves too far behind the eight-ball. Only one of them will walk out of Philadelphia with their momentum restored.
Rams LT Alaric Jackson vs. Eagles DT Jalen Carter
If Stafford is going to carve up Philadelphia the way Case Keenum just did, somebody has to keep his jersey clean.
The Rams left tackle has allowed two sacks through three games and now faces a Philadelphia front built around Carter and Jordan Davis, the same two interior monsters who helped ruin Los Angeles’ afternoon last season.
Carter can wreck a protection without recording a sack. His penetration destroys running lanes, pushes quarterbacks off their launch points and creates opportunities for everyone around him.
Philadelphia will move its defensive linemen around, so this isn’t exclusively Jackson’s fight. But the assignment is straightforward: give Stafford enough time to find Nacua and Adams against a secondary that just got exposed.
Nothing about playing the Eagles has been easy for the Rams, and expecting that to suddenly change despite Philadelphia’s dud in Chicago last week would be foolish. Barkley will almost certainly cause problems, especially with Myles Garrett still on IR. Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will disguise coverages and the Linc will be hostile from breakfast onward. But if Nacua can return, it will change McVay’s offense. If Stafford can eliminate the back-breaking interceptions and pick apart that Eagles’ secondary like it’s string cheese, then the Rams will survive another white-knuckle fourth quarter. Let’s just hope they don’t need a last-second field goal to do it.
Allow that many sacks to this Philadelphia front and even Nacua’s return won’t matter.
The Eagles front four remains its greatest weapon, beginning with Carter and Davis, and Fangio is one of the NFL’s best at making quarterbacks hesitate by disguising fronts and coverages.
Stafford admitted as much this week, praising Fangio’s ability to give quarterbacks “a lot to think about.”
The Rams offensive line will need to provide better protection, especially from Jackson. McVay can help them out with Kyren Williams, opting for play action and Stafford can help by getting the ball out quicker.
Nacua practiced Wednesday for the first time in nearly two weeks, and McVay expects him to play Sunday.
That’s a massive development for an offense that somehow was still dangerous while he was gone.
Adams has produced consecutive 100-yard games and now gets his running mate back. As Adams explained Wednesday, having another elite receiver across from him makes him “a little hungrier” because targets suddenly have competition attached to them.
If Nacua is healthy, he gives the Rams a huge boost on offense and the Eagles secondary someone else to have nightmares about.
Barkley has routinely punished the Rams, and the easiest way for Philadelphia to protect Hurts and a struggling passing game is to put the offense on No. 26’s shoulders.
He rushed for 82 yards against Chicago but cooled dramatically after halftime. The Rams need to make sure the second-half version is what they see on the field on Sunday.
Los Angeles has held its last two opposing quarterbacks under 190 passing yards, but the pass rush produced only one sack against Denver. Donald’s sore back only complicates matters.
If Barkley starts ripping off chunk runs, Mannion can use play action and keep Donald — assuming he plays — from hunting Hurts.
The Eagles have tormented the Rams so much in recent years that they’re likely in their heads. It would be easy for Los Angeles to suffer from PTSD after last season’s walk-off loss once they step back onto the field at the Linc on Sunday.
Whether it’s last season’s gut-punch or the snow globe game in the NFC Divisional round in 2024, the Rams have plenty of moments they’d like to forget in Philadelphia.
So one of the best things the Rams can do is forget the past and wipe the slate clean come Sunday. That stands for all past performances against Philadelphia, as well as their first three games to start this season.
Just go out there and have fun and play the game you love like you were in Pop Warner again. Do that and the Rams should come away with the victory.
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