- Analysis
- The Philadelphia Eagles and a bruising running game is going to decimate the Los Angeles Rams today.
Let's face it, we know the Rams have gotten to this point on the shoulders of their defense, which has allowed less than 10 points in four of the Rams' last five games including last week's Wild Card win. The issue with that statistic is three of those performances came against the 49ers, Jets and Cardinals in the closing weeks of the regular season when those teams were thinking more about draft position than wins.
Now, their performance against Minnesota in the Wild Card game was slightly more convincing, holding Sam Darnold and company to only nine points, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt since the Detroit Lions also held the Vikes to nine points the previous week.
The Rams' defense is playing its best right now, but it still won’t have an answer for the problem that is Saquon Barkley, who ran for a franchise record 255 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles first meeting with the Rams, a 37-20 decision in favor of the Birds in late November. Also, do you realize the Eagles ran for more than 260 yards after contact in that first game? And I don't think there's been much improvement since then on the Rams' defense, to counter what the Eagles will run down their throat.
Also, AJ Brown had a 100-yard receiving day that afternoon, so it was a successful offensive attack on both fronts.
The Eagles ranked seventh in the league with an average of 27.2 points per game and second in the league with 179.3 rushing yards per game. The Rams, on the other hand, were 23rd in the league with 130 rushing yards allowed per game.
The Rams might not give up 255 to Barkley this time around, but they also won’t be holding the Eagles less than 10 points. Considering the fact the Rams were held under 20 points themselves in three of those wins in which they held their opponents under 10, that’s probably not going to be a winning recipe. Los Angeles has the talent - not to mention the best coach-quarterback combination in the league - but not enough to make this one interesting once Philly uses its homefield and the weather to its advantage. When push comes to shove and crunch time arrives, it will be Barkley that locks up the Eagles win and cover with a big touchdown or two late. Eagles by 10, maybe 14.
