St. Louis Rams Week 5 Predictions Roundup: Philadelphia Eagles

Sep 28, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) leaves the field after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi

It has been nearly two week since fans have seen the golden horn-laden Rams take to the field, having been given Week 4 off, courtesy of their early Bye. However, since their disappointing 34-31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, a number of happenings have occurred that may or may not effect the public’s perception of the matchup between the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.

For one, the high-powered Chip Kelly offense was nearly stonewalled by the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers, allowing fewer than 50 total rushing yards and holding Nick Foles to a completion rate below 50%.

On the Rams side, Jeff Fisher miraculously changed his concrete stance on the starting quarterback job in St. Louis, naming Austin Davis the starter for the “rest of the season.” While appointing your third-string signal caller the “starter” would typically not be a big deal, this particular third-string signal caller leads the NFL in completion percentage (72.3%) and has been the most accurate deep ball thrower in the league, so far.

Will either of those factors change the national media’s predictions for Sunday?

Sports Illustrated: 37-16, Eagles

"LeSean McCoy is simply too good to be a non-factor for much longer, but his struggles in the first month prove that a running back — no matter how elite he is — can be bottled up almost completely behind a shaky offensive line. There’s nowhere to run in Philly at the moment, but maybe the return of offensive tackle Lane Johnson from league suspension this week will start the Eagles’ comeback up front. Look for Chip Kelly to focus like a laser on establishing McCoy’s presence against the Rams, who have had major issues stopping the run this season. A ground game by Philadelphia will help ease some of the pressure on quarterback Nick Foles’ shoulders, and restore some of the balance that has been missing from the Eagles offense."

NFL.com: 37-16, Eagles

"A tasty little nugget emerged from the Eagles’ loss to the Niners last Sunday: Philly blocked a punt for a touchdown for the first time since 1992, a whopping 22 years ago. I can’t help but think of the punt the Eagles almost blocked for a score in the 2001 NFC Championship Game against these very Rams. Had the immortal N.D. Kalu gotten to that ball … history would have changed, man. Bill Belichick and the Pats would have been facing Donovan McNabb in Super Bowl XXXVI, a wild card if ever there was one.Oh, how that Rams club was loaded. Flash forward, and the 2014 version has slightly less offensive firepower, unless you consider Austin Davis the second coming of Kurt Warner. Either way, I don’t trust these Rams on the road against an Eagles offense that you know will be fired up to prove nothing ails it after being held without a touchdown in San Francisco. St. Louis needs defensive end Chris Long to get healthy. Every team could use a Jeremy Maclin, who is on pace to break Mike Quick’s Eagles record (set in 1983) for receiving yards in a season (1,409). Quick, by the way, had a mustache that year that Lionel Richie could have been proud of. #STLvsPHI"

Pro Football Talk: 35-21, Eagles; 34-17, Eagles

"MDS’s take: The Eagles have been missing a lot of opportunities offensively, with Nick Foles failing to connect on his deep balls. I think the Rams’ defense, which is struggling to rush the passer, is going to give Foles plenty of time to find receivers downfield, and this should be a big win for Philadelphia.Florio’s take: Philly’s offensive line is struggling, but so is the supposedly dominant St. Louis defensive line. Look for Chip Kelly to draw up a game plan that gets the most out of a quintet of blockers that welcomes back Lane Johnson. And that shuts down an offense that Austin Davis has wrested from Shaun Hill."

Ramblin’ Fan: 21-17, Eagles

"The Rams come off of their bye facing a daunting task. Between Week 6 and 11 the Rams play the 49ers twice, travel to Philadelphia, Kansas City and Arizona; as well as host the Seahawks and Broncos. St. Louis looked like they were on their way to a 2-1 record heading into the bye before a complete implosion led to a loss to the Cowboys.Despite the collapse, Austin Davis looked like the best quarterback the Rams have had since a healthy Marc Bulger. The Rams better hope they get some added energy coming out of the bye when they travel to Philly this weekend. The Eagles have become the comeback kids of the NFL orchestrating three straight comebacks of double-digit points before falling to the 49ers in Week 4. LeSean McCoy will be looking to try and turn around his disastrous campaign so far against the 30th ranked run defense in the NFL.I truly believe that the Eagles are due for a letdown, but I don’t think it’s coming this week. I expect this game to be closer than most would guess and the Rams covering seem pretty safe to me."

Some sites prefer to merely throw out their picks, instead of outlining boldly predicted scores. In a unanimous vote, the USA Today went with the Eagles to pull out the victory on Sunday, with seven out of seven analysts picking Philadelphia  over the Rams. In the Week 5 “expert picks” for ESPN, only 1 out of 14 picked the St. Louis Rams to win. In CBS Sports’ “Against the Spread” predictions, six of eight went with the “underdog” Rams, with the Eagles as ridiculously-large 7.5 favorites. However, with their “Straight Up” picks the votes flipped back to the Eagles, with all eight experts picking the Eagles to win.