Eagles Survive the Rams

There is one simple goal when you play in a single-elimination postseason. You need to survive and advance. The Eagles did just that, beating the Rams 28-22 in a snowy, sloppy game that was way closer than it should have been.

There are a lot of issues that need to be discussed and addressed. The game had a great outcome, but a very frustrating performance. Before that, we have to give the Eagles credit for making the key plays that led to the win. I think some people forget how hard it is to win in the NFL, especially in the postseason. The Eagles are going to the NFC championship for the second time in three years. The Cowboys last appearance was 1995. Both of this year’s postseason wins have been closer than they should have been. But they were wins.

Saquon Barkley is the headliner. He ran for 205 yards, including TDs of 62 and 78 yards. Barkley has had a magical season and that continued in the win over the Rams.

SAQUON BARKLEY 78 YARDS GOOOOODBYE!

: #LARvsPHI on NBC
: Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/88LvtJoEFa

— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2025

The Eagles defense had 5 sacks, 2 takeaways and multiple red zone stops. Jalen Carter had 2 sacks, a PD, a FF and multiple pressures. He probably played his best game of the season. Most importantly, he came up big on the final two Rams plays of the game. They had driven into scoring territory. That’s when Carter put his stamp on the game.

Jalen Carter tonight —

• 5 tackles
• 3 QB hits
• 2.0 sacks
• PBU
• Forced fumble

Superstar performance. pic.twitter.com/bUmXtudgGI

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) January 19, 2025

After that third down sack, Carter got pressure on fourth down and forced an errant pass. That sealed the game and gave the Birds a big W.

There were a bunch of guys on defense who played well. Zack Baun had 6 tackles, a TFL, a PD and recovered a fumble. Nolan Smith had a strip sack and was disruptive. Darius Slay broke up 3 passes and just missed an INT.

As well as the stars played, you also have to give credit to some key backups. Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo each had sacks. Oren Burks played well. He had 2 TFLs and a PD. Isaiah Rodgers had to fill in for Quinyon Mitchell for most of the game and had some good moments. Howie Roseman built a talented team and a deep team as well.

Now let’s talk about some issues. Jake Elliott went 3 for 3 on FGs, but missed 2 extra points. That almost cost the Eagles the game. The Eagles have to see what went wrong on those kicks. You can’t have that moving forward.

Jalen Hurts was up and down. He had a 44-yard TD run and made some key throws. He also took some big sacks, including one for a safety. That almost cost the Eagles the game. Hurts got hurt in the second half and toughed his way through the injury. Give him credit for helping his team win, but this was another frustrating performance.

He did have bad luck on a couple of plays. Hurts threw a good pass to DeVonta for what should have been a big gain, but an illegal hit broke it up. AJ Brown dropped 2 passes, including one that was a deep ball that would have put the Eagles at the 2-yard line. Hurts also executed a TE screen for a good gain, only to have it wiped out by a penalty on Mekhi Becton. Hurts could have had another 100 yards passing if not for mistakes that weren’t his fault.

The OL was very up and down. They were dominant at times, but also had some key penalties and missed blocks/assignments. Hurts was sacked 7 times. Some of that was on him, but some was due to poor protection.

There was some sloppy tackling in the game. Some of that was due to the weather, but some of it came before the snow really fell.

Nick Sirianni will be happy his team made the key plays needed to win. He’ll be frustrated with the sloppy mistakes that kept the game closer than it should have been. They don’t give  you style points in the postseason so focus on the win.

The big question now becomes injuries. Hurts said something after the game about expecting to play next week, but we’ll have to see how his knee is after a few days. Quinyon banged up his shoulder. The initial reports say it doesn’t look too serious. Rodgers hurt his leg in the game, but came back for the final series. AJ Brown’s knee must be bugging him. We’ll have to hope it feels a bit better for next week.

Let’s hope these guys are physically ready for next week’s NFC championship game…at The Linc.

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