Eagles vs. Rams: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

On By Littum

Saquon Barkley was struck by two words – “the ball.”

The only mistake the great tailback made Sunday night was not keeping the historic ball after his 72-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown that gave him a career-best and Eagles’ single-game rushing record 255 yards.

Carried by the exquisite Barkley, the Eagles cut across Los Angeles Rams37-20, for their seventh straight win in front of a national television audience at SoFi Stadium.

Barkley ran for second-half touchdowns of 70 and 72 yards, finishing with a career-high 255 yards rushing on 26 carries, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. carry. He finished with 302 yards from scrimmage, including the 47 yards he had receiving.

Anything Barkley wanted to do, he did — against a defense stacked to stop him. Barkley has a career-best 1,392 yards rushing this season with six games remaining. He is averaging 126.5 yards and has an outside chance to rush for 2,000 yards this season.

Currently, Barkley’s 1,392 is no. 5 all-time for Eagles single-season rushing yards, trailing LeSean McCoy’s 1,607 (2013), Wilbert Montgomery’s 1,512 (1979), Ricky Watters’ 1,411 (1996’s 1996) and 1996’s . At the rate Barkley is going, he will surely break McCoy’s single season record. If he can continue to rush for his 126-yard average over the last six games, Barkley could reach the mythical 2,000.

The Eagles are 9-2, with a 2.5-game lead Washington’s commanders in the NFC East and is one game behind at 10-1 Detroit Lions. The Eagles have six games remaining, with four of the six at home against teams with a combined record of 21-24.

Could next week’s visit to Baltimore be one Super Bowl preview?

The crushing news was losing Brandon Graham and announcing he would be done for the season with a torn triceps.

There was a ton of good, some bad and one very big ugly statement in the Eagles’ thoroughly dominant 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

The good

Saquon Barkley’s 70-yard touchdown run to open the second half—and 72-yard touchdown run to end his night. It was the second-longest run of Barkley’s distinguished career, giving him 143 yards rushing on 14 carries to that point. On the Eagles’ second drive of the second half, Barkley later took a screen 31 yards on a third-and-10 to the Rams’ 13. One play later, Kenneth Gainwell scored on a 13-yard run for a 27-14 Eagles lead with 6:17 left in the third quarter. Barkley finished with a career-high 255 yards rushing on 26 carries, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. He finished with 302 yards from scrimmage, including the 47 yards he had receiving. After his performance Sunday night, Barkley made a bold statement as the 2024 NFL MVP. The 255 yards were the Eagles’ single-game rushing record and the No. 9 overall in NFL history.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams comes up with a big 5-yard sack on third and 13 at the Eagles’ 29. The next play, Rams’ kicker Joshua Karty missed a 47-yard field goal wide right with 1:32 left in the third quarter. Williams finished with two sacks for minus-14 yards, including his fourth-quarter sack on a third-and-nine at the Rams’ 45. That essentially ended any hope of Los Angeles getting back into the game.

Gainwell’s 13-yard, third-quarter TD was his first score of the seasonmade possible by center Cam Jurgens turning the Rams’ interior to the left and opening a huge hole.

Left guard Landon Dickerson smacks linebacker Michael Hoecht aside and then bowls over Omar Speights as he frees Barkley on the 70-yard touchdown run. Dickerson simply pushed Hoecht to right, reached the second level and buried Speights. Barkley ran right behind Dickerson and then bolted free. The national television crew raved about tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata — deservedly so, but Dickerson is arguably one of the best guards in the NFL and is sometimes underrated.

The Eagles’ defense in the second quarter. After being shredded in the first quarter for 117 yards of total offense and nine first downs, the Eagles held the Rams to minus-6 yards of total offense in the second quarter, not allowing a first down. They forced the Rams into three straight three-and-outs before Josh Sweat provided the capper with the Eagles’ third sack of the half, a nine-yard takedown, for a minus-26 total. The Rams’ 7 points marked the fourth straight game in which the Eagles’ defense had given up 7 points or less in the half.

Linebacker Nakobe Dean runs over Kyren Williams en route to an eight-yard sack on Matt Stafford on a second-and-five at the Rams’ 35.. The sack came on Los Angeles’ final drive of the half and forced the Rams to punt.

AJ Brown’s touchdown catch with 1:27 left in the half gave the Eagles a 13-7 lead. For the second time in the game, the Eagles needed a crucial call overturned. At first, the refs called it an incomplete pass when it appeared Brown clearly caught the ball on second-and-goal from the Rams’ six. Rams cornerback Quentin Lake knocked the ball out of Brown’s hands, but not after Brown secured the ball, took a left step into the end zone and dragged his right foot. It was an obvious TD catch. Officials needed a little shot to make sure it got right. On the final play of the third quarter, Hurts found Brown on a third-and-five at the Eagles’ 42 for a 28-yard completion to Los Angeles’ 30. Brown finished with six receptions for a game-high 109 yards and a touchdown.

The Ageless One, Brandon Graham’s nine-yard sack of Stafford on the Rams’ fourth drive on a third-and-nine at Los Angeles’ 31 with 4:24 left in the half. Graham came from the back and the way he has played this season, the Eagles would have had to think about keeping the old man for another year. He had 4.5 sacks this season, second on the team behind Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. Graham later had a six-yard sack early in the third quarter, and followed that by forcing Stafford into an incomplete pass. He also had a five-yard tackle for loss—and he announced after the game that he would be lost for the season with a torn triceps.

Brown went beast mode on the Eagles’ third drive in a 27-yard trek through four Rams’ defenders. He came up with a big catch on a third-and-four at the Rams’ 40, putting the Eagles at the Los Angeles 13. However, when he was there, the Eagles squandered the opportunity and had to settle for a field goal.

Cornerbacks Isaiah Rodgers and Cooper DeJean rush Kyren Williams fumbles on the Rams’ first drive at the Eagles’ 17. Linebacker Nakobe Dean pounced on the loose ball. The Eagles’ coaching staff failed to inform Nick Sirianni about throwing the red flag in time. Fortunately, the officials caught it and reversed the call, after initially saying Williams was down.

DeJean comes up to defend Cooper Kupp to force an incomplete pass on a third-and-four at the Rams’ 27 on Los Angeles’ third series. That has been typical of the rookie’s impactful play this season. Later, on first-and-10 at the Rams’ 43 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter, DeJean was disruptive again when he knocked away a deep pass right to Puka Nacua.

The bad one

Cornerback Darius “Big Play” Slay called for pass interference in the end zone on an incomplete pass up the middle to Demarcus Robinson. The flag came on a second-and-goal at the Eagles’ 7 on the Rams’ second drive. Slay tried to protest a play, though it was clear his right arm hooked Robinson as he tried to cut to the middle of the field. On the following play, the Rams took a 7–3 lead with 1:02 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run. It was just the 20th point the Rams had scored in the first quarter this season. Slay later missed Puka Nacua on the Rams’ first play of their third drive for a six-yard gain.

The Eagles have to settle for a field goal on their first drive. The Eagles ran through the Rams’ defense with ease to reach Los Angeles’ three. Hurts was four-for-four on drives for 43 yards and Saquon Barkley carried five times for 26 yards — and then they stalled. The 80-yard drive chewed up 7:19, but the Eagles should have come away with more than a 21-yard Jake Elliott field goal.

The Ugly

Losing big Brandon Graham for the season with a torn triceps, as he announced after the game. Graham is a leader off and on the field, and for someone doing spot duty, he made a big impact. He was all over the pitch on Sunday night. His great disposition shines everywhere he goes and will be a great loss to this team everywhere. At age 36, it may have been the last game the future Eagles’ Hall of Famer played. In short – devastating.

Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers is flagged for pass interference on a third-and-16 at the Eagles’ 34 on the Rams’ first drive of the second half. It was debatable whether Rodgers grabbed Puka Nacua with his right hand when Nuka ran past him. Nevertheless, the penalty gave the Rams a first down at the Eagles’ 3. Two plays later, Stafford went after Rodgers and connected with Demarcus Robinson for a two-yard TD with 10:51 left in the third quarter. It was in response to Barkley’s 70-yard TD run. Rodgers became Stafford’s personal dove. On fourth-and-one at midfield, Stafford found Rodgers again isolated on Nacua, who popped up the field for a 29-yard gain to the Eagles’ 21. It wasn’t a good night for Rodgers.

The Eagles fall apart in the red zone on their third drive. After Brown got them to the Rams’ 13, Dickerson was flagged for an ineligible man downfield penalty on a first-and-10 that pushed the ball back to the 18. An offsides penalty against Jahan Dotson was ruled out on an incomplete Hurts pass to Dallas Goedert, and an illegal motion penalty against Goedert was dismissed. The Eagles had to settle for a 31-yard Elliott field goal. The Eagles were 0-for-2 in the red zone on their first three drives.

The Eagles’ defense in the first quarter. The rams plow right through the eagles as if they weren’t there. On Los Angeles’ opening two drives, it amassed 117 yards of total offense, an average of 8.4 yards a play. The Rams picked up nine first downs to the Eagles’ five, and were so efficient offensively that they didn’t have a third down through their first 14 plays. If Kyren Williams hadn’t lost a fumble on the Rams’ first drive, the score could easily have been 14-0 in the Rams’ favor. Entering the game, the Rams had been outscored by an NFL-high 50 points in the first quarter this season (63-13). That gap narrowed a bit, though the Eagles are just behind, having been outscored 47-17 in the opening quarter this season. The Rams’ initial third down didn’t occur until 11:53 left in the half on the Rams’ third series..

Kyren Williams’ 27-yard run right up the middle on a first-and-10 at the Eagles’ 44 on the Rams’ fourth play of the game. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis looked like they were shoveled away like rare snow on a Los Angeles sidewalk, creating a gaping hole through the middle of the Eagles’ defense. Where were they? It seemed like on the complete opposite side of the field. Fortunately, one play later, Williams fumbled on the following play, recovered by Dean at the Eagles’ 17.

Old Man River Matt Stafford’s 15-yard run on the Rams’ third play of the game on a first-and-10 at the Rams’ 41.