Posted November 25th, 2024 | 2 Comments »Los Angeles is the city where stars go to shine so it should be no surprise that Saquon Barkley had the best game of his career in LA on Sunday night. He ran for 255 yards and finished with 302 total yards and a pair of TDs. Barkley had two runs of 70 or more yards.
Wow.
You run out of superlatives when talking about Barkley and how special he is. He’s never played at this level in his pro career. The Eagles have given him a good home and Barkley has rewarded them with a season for the ages. He is on pace to run for more than 2,000 yards…in 16 games. What an absolute stud.
The Eagles beat the Rams 37-20. Things were a little slow to start with the Eagles having to settle for FGs early on. They trailed 7-6 in the second quarter. The Eagles then went up 13-7 at the half and just took control in the second half. The offense was able to march up and down the field. The defense made plays and the Eagles were up 37-14 before the Rams added a garbage time TD.
The offense piled up 481 yards and looked really good at times. Jalen Hurts had started slow in some recent games, but that wasn’t the case in LA. He fed the ball to AJ Brown, who finished 6-109-1. Hurts played smart and protected the ball.
Cris Collinsworth praised the Eagles OL throughout the game and deservedly so. The guys up front were dominant for most of the game. They opened some big holes and really pounded on the Rams defense. Barkley made sure to praise the OL after the game. The Rams young DL won some battles, but the Eagles OL definitely won the war.
The Eagles defense was tested by a good offense. Matthew Stafford led the Rams to an early TD and you wondered if Sean McVay might have Vic Fangio figured out. After two early drives, the defense came alive and limited the Rams for most of the game. One of the keys was the outstanding play of the DL, especially Brandon Graham. He had a sack, 2 TFLs and 3 QB hits. That’s the good news.
The bad…
Ugh. That is heartbreaking. BG was having a terrific season and really stood out against the Rams. Even when he wasn’t making plays he was being disruptive and creating chances for others. Milton Williams had 2 sacks. Nakobe Dean had a sack where he ran over the RB and got Stafford down. The Eagles finished with 11 QB hits. This was an outstanding performance by the front seven.
It will be important to get some injury news. Darius Slay left with a concussion. Josh Sweat hurt his ankle/foot. He came back and played, but you hope he’s okay. The Rams are a physical team. The Eagles are playing at a high level right now, but injuries are always an X-factor. The Eagles will have to figure out how they want to replace BG. It won’t be easy since he was playing well and also is one of a kind as a personality.
The defense limited the Rams to 290 yards. That’s their lowest total of the season in a game with both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua playing. Once the defense got a feel for what the Rams were doing, they were able to make some plays and affect the offense. Fangio is a good coach and his guys are getting the job done.
This was the Eagles first prime time game since September. This team is a lot different than the early season Eagles. Anyone who hadn’t seen them recently was probably surprised at the defense being much improved and Barkley taking his game up a notch. The Eagles are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. This team seems to get a little better every week.
They can enjoy this win until the plane lands in Philly. Then they have to start thinking about the Ravens. That will be the toughest game of the year and the Eagles biggest test.
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Posted November 24th, 2024 | Comments Off on Game Preview – PHI at LARThe Rams were projected by many to be a playoff team this year. They started the season 1-4 and had a ton of injuries. That caused more than a few people to jump off the bandwagon. The Rams have gone 4-1 since then and turned their season around. It is hard to get a feel for how good they are, but this is an improving team with a veteran QB, two great receivers and a lot of young defensive talent.
They also have a great coach. Sean McVay has gone to a pair of Super Bowls, winning one. He’s won with multiple QBs and had to deal with a tremendous amount of roster turnover.
I don’t think anyone would argue that the Eagles are the better team in this game. As we know, a lot of NFL games come down to matchups. McVay vs Vic Fangio makes for an interesting battle.
If McVay has been that obsessed with Fangio’s scheme, it could be an advantage for the Rams. Their offense has been hurt by injuries. When healthy, that can be really good. During their hot streak they average 24 points per game, which is solid. They have only gone above 400 yards once, but Stafford is still a dangerous QB. Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp are one of the best WR duos in the league. Kyren Williams gives them a workhorse RB. When that group is healthy the Rams are dangerous.
Even at 36, Stafford has one of the stronger arms in the league. He can make every throw in the book. Stafford has thrown 10 TDs in the last four games so he’s playing his best football of the season right now. The Eagles must affect him with their pass rush. If you give Stafford a clean pocket, he can pick you apart with his strong arm, accuracy and touch.
Cupp and Nacua are unusual receivers. They both run great routes. They both have strong, sure hands. They both have outstanding body control. The thing that really separates them is that they are so physical. They can block. They can take contact and still make catches. Both guys are hard to tackle and don’t go down without a fight. That physicality has led them to take more hits than other players and has probably caused them to miss time.
Watching Darius Slay and Quinyon Mitchell battle Cupp and Nacua should be fun. Mitchell is incredibly talented, but dealing with their route running and hard cuts is a challenge for any CB, let alone a rookie. If he can limit them, it will add to his campaign for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Rams OL is solid. RT Rob Havenstein is doubtful so Warren McClendon will probably start in his place. Jalen Carter has been a wrecking ball in recent weeks and the Eagles need another good game from him. The Rams group isn’t great at pass pro, but they are tough and physical.
This game will be a challenge for the back seven of the Eagles. McVay likes to attack specific players and force them to make a tough decision within a play. The Eagles have a lot of young and/or inexperienced players in that part of the defense so their will likely be some mistakes made. The defense has played at a high level this year in large part to how smart they’ve been so we’ll see how they do with this test.
The Rams defense is more of a work in progress. They are 23rd in yards allowed and 22nd in points allowed. They have a great rookie class that has helped them in the current hot streak.
- DE Jared Verse – 1st round
- DT Braden Fiske – 2nd round
- S Kam Kinchens – 3rd round
- LB Omar Speights – UDFA
- S Jaylen McCullough – UDFA
That is a lot of rookie talent. Add in second year players like Kobie Turner and Byron Young and you have a lot of young talent. This group could develop into one of the best defenses in the league in the next year or two.
Verse leads the team in TFLs and QB hits. He also has 4.5 sacks. He is Mitchell’s key competition for DROY. If one of them can shine tonight, it will help their case for the award.
Young leads the team with 6 sacks. He is a speed rusher with a good motor. He will probably face Lane Johnson most of the time. I actually think Young would be a tougher matchup for Jordan Mailata. Young can get low and Mailata sometimes will struggle with smaller speed rushers. Verse against Mailata will be fun. Verse is more of a power rusher. Can he get the best of a massive LT like Mailata?
The Eagles will be missing DeVonta Smith. AJ Brown is the workhorse receiver so this should be something the Eagles can overcome. They will need Jahan Dotson to make some plays. Smith’s absence could also mean more snaps for rookie Johnny Wilson. The Eagles get Britain Covey back from injury so he will be part of the mix as well.
The Rams run defense has been better recently, but overall has struggled against good RBs and mobile QBs. You can bet the Eagles will give them a big dose of Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts. Barkley has averaged 117 rushing yards per game during the Eagles winning streak. He’s also delivered some big plays in that stretch. Hurts has been a TD machine recently. He’s got 9 rushing TDs in the last five games.
Turnovers will be key to this game. Both the Eagles and Rams have been winning that battle during their current hot streaks. Will they cancel each other out or will one team do a better job of protecting the ball?
It will be interesting to see how Jake Elliott does in this game. He’s coming off the worst performance of his career. The Eagles say they have confidence in him. That sounds good, but I think everyone will feel better after seeing Elliott make a kick or two.
The Eagles are coming off a Thursday night game so they’ve had a mini-bye. That extra rest can help them down the stretch. We’ll see if the coaches figured anything out with the slow starts on offense. They haven’t hurt the Eagles, but you sure would like to get off to faster starts.
Neither team is desperate since both are on hot streaks. I don’t know that there are any major X-factors, beyond McVay wanting to beat Fangio. The Eagles have been getting a lot of praise since their win over Washington. Let’s hope that didn’t go to their heads and that they are focused and ready for a tough Rams team.
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