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The Los Angeles Rams are one of the hottest teams in the NFC.
After starting off the season in an injury-fueled free-fall, going 1-4 before mercifully being sent off for some R&R during their bye, the Rams have won four of their five games with a point differential of +19 and are a weird effort against the Miami Dolphins away from first place in an NFC West that doesn't have a single team with a losing season.
Chris Shula's defense has been getting better and better with each passing week, allowing a full touchdown fewer per game since the bye, from 27.8 to 20, and when the offense is firing on all cylinders, with Matthew Stafford throwing the ball to Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams, the Rams can put up yards and points with the best of them.
And yet, what happens when an ascending defense and a high-ceiling offense face off against one of the best defenses in the NFL? What happens when that defense is paired up with the best-rushing offense in the NFL and a passing offense that punches well above expectations because of its explosive vertical strike potential? Will the Rams rise to the occasion and play up to their opponent's talent level? Or will they crumble under pressure, falling down the standings and losing positioning in a very contested NFC wildcard race?
Well, in Week 12's edition of Sunday Night Football, the Rams will find out the answer to that very question as they are set to face off against the hottest team in the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles, who are flying high on a six-game win streak. With home-field advantage and underdog status in the eyes of everyone but the most hardcore fans, can the Rams overcome the Eagles and progress up the NFC power rankings? Or will they instead suffer another setback, which is practically the defining storyline of the 2024 NFL season? Well, it's safe to say securing the win will be a whole lot easier said than done, as the Eagles are a team that can attack foes in a variety of different ways.
1. Matthew Stafford embraces unconventional passing weapons
In 2024, the Eagles have arguably the best overall defense in the NFL under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Against the run, the Eagles are stout, ranking seventh league-wide, allowing just 999 yards over ten games, and against the pass? Goodness, Philadelphia is even better, ranking second in passing yards allowed at 1,732 despite being targeted the 13th-most times in the league and only allowing nine passing touchdowns, the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
Do you want to run the ball up the middle? The Georgia quartet of Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Nakobe Dean, and burgeoning superstar Jalen Carter have made that very hard to do. How about throwing the ball to wide receivers? Well, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are playing as well as any two rookie cornerbacks in the NFL at left CB and slot corner, respectively, with the veteran duo of Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers on the right side, depending on who is healthy on any given week.
So what is a team to do? Run the ball against an interior defense that is very effective? Or throw the ball at cornerbacks who are also very good?
Needless to say, Stafford and Sean McVay are going to have to get creative in order to move the ball on Fangio's defense – unless he goes soft zone like in Week 2 and 4, then it's open season – as expecting Kupp and Nacua to consistently beat Mitchell and DeJean feels unlikely.
Fortunately, the Rams have a ton of interesting ways to throw the ball, including using running backs like Williams and Blake Corum in the passing game and finally getting tight ends like Colby Perkins, Davis Allen, and Hunter Long going against a collection of safeties and linebackers who really haven't been picked on within the greater workings of the Eagles' defense.
Will that strategy work? It's hard to say; maybe Dean, Zack Baun, Reed Blankenship, and CJ Gardner-Johnson will rise to the occasion and shut that aspect of the Rams' offense down, but when you consider there are only so many jet sweeps, flea flickers, and other trick plays that a team can run to Tutu Atwell, attacking the middle of the field seems like a sound strategy.
2. Saquon Barkley breaks the Rams' rushing defense
On paper, the Rams' rushing defense is better than it should be.
Despite having been tested the seventh-most times of any team in the NFL, the Rams have only allowed 1,273 rushing yards on the year, which ranks just a bit short of .500 league-wide with an 18th overall rank. They've held two of their last five opponents to under 70 rushing yards, and since the bye, their rushing yards-per-game allowed has come in at 97, down from 127 on the season.
And yet, the Rams haven't faced off against a running back like Saquon Barkley, who has forced his name into the MVP conversation with incredible play after incredible play as the Eagles' offensive engine.
Recording a league-leading 197 rushing attempts on the season despite appearing in one fewer game than some running backs, Barkley has already surpassed 1,000 yards with an extra 137 to spare, filling out his statline with eight rushing touchdowns, 23 catches on 29 targets for 210 more receiving yards and two more touchdowns through the air. Barkley can truck through the middle of the offensive line, rip off huge runs when he kicks it outside, and has made a few huge plays as a receiver, too, even if his Week 2 drop effectively cost the team a win against the Atlanta Falcons.
Now granted, Barkley has been held under 100 yards as a runner on four occasions, including in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys and against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, but the Eagles won both of those games with ease and didn't really need to overwork their RB1 with the game more or less in hand. If the Rams are going to beat the Eagles, they will not only need to have Barkley run the ball a ton but limit his effectiveness on each run, which is easier said than done.
3. Jalen Hurts runs the Eagles to a win in LA
In 2024, the Rams have not fared particularly well against running quarterbacks.
Granted, it's not like they've faced off against many through their first ten games, with Kyler Murray the lone elite runner they've taken on, but goodness, he carved the team up with his arms and legs, finishing the game with 325 total yards and three touchdowns in an absolute routing of LA's finest.
And in Week 12, they get to try again against Jalen Hurts, who has become an absolutely lethal game manager with an ability to pick up yards on the ground and hit huge vertical gains with the dynamic duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside.
Now sure, the Rams' pass rush has been impressive this season, with Jared Verse and Braden Fiske looking like naturals next to Kobie Turner and Byron Young, but how will they fare when they can't just barrel forward to the quarterback but instead have to read Hurts' movements and react to his decisionmaking on Philly's signature play, the RPO?
While this game isn't a guaranteed win for the Eagles, it certainly seems like they have the advantage, which isn't the end of the world for LA's playoffs dreams but does make things harder for the Rams.
