A different LA Rams team faces the Philadelphia Eagles in Round 2

The LA Rams (11-7) are hot. But so are the Philadelphia Eagles (15-3). And it's the Rams who will be on road, traveling to the East Coast to face the Eagles in Philadelphia, PA. The two teams faced off in Week 12, and the Rams took a loss when last the teams met.

The LA Rams had no answers for Eagles RB Saquon Barkley in that game, as he turned running and receiving into an artform, and single-handedly put up over 300 yards of offense plus two touchdowns. It was a performance that set an Eagles franchise record for most rushing yards in a single game.

If you are reading articles on the Philadelphia Eagles site Inside the Eagles, you may get the sense that they are a bit overconfident. After all, the Eagles had little trouble dismantling the Rams in a 37-20 win in Week 12. A recent article by Inside the Iggles writer Michael Kaskey-Blomain entitled 3 promising stats from Eagles Week 12 win over Rams ahead of playoff match-up highlights the main positive takeaways from the game between these two teams.

That was then, this is now.

Philadelphia Eagles veteran Brandon Graham showed up in such a big way in Week 12. Graham in on IR now. So, he cannot make an impact in this one.

The Rams are a different team now in the 2025 NFL Playoffs

Can these two teams, who clashed in Week 12 on November 24, 2024, be so different now? I think so, yes. But I'm not guessing here. After all, the players who are healthy enough to suit up to play the game have changed. As you can guess, that will make a huge difference in the outcome of the game. So let's dive into the Eagles first.

The Philadelphia Eagles will get WR Devonta Smith for this one. But I'm not sure they are better equipped, as they must face the Rams without defensive star ILB Nakobe Dean. Dean was a defensive natural disaster in Week 12, leading the Rams with eight tackles, 1.0 QB sacks, two tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hit. Even when he wasn't making the play, he seemed to impact the game. The Rams offense threw 36 passes and ran only 18 times in that game, likely due to the presence of hard-tackling Smith.

On the other hand, the Rams played in Week 12 without starting right tackle Rob Havenstein. His absence seemed to create all sorts of problems for the offense in that game. While he did not throw an interception, Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked five times, and was banged around 11 times like a game of pinball. He finished the game by throwing 24 of 36 times for 243 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

After the game, Stafford was sacked twice in Week 13 against the New Orleans Saints, and then he remained upright for four consecutive games until the Minnesota Vikings fearsome pass rush got him twice. Over the course of the regular season, the Vikings pass rush recorded 49 quarterback sacks, good for fourth-place in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles defense clocked in with 41 quarterback sacks, tying them for 13th place in the NFL

Perhaps an even more relevant fact is the Rams experimenting with differing configurations on offense and defense throughtout the 2024 NFL season. The Rams have toggled in and out of 12-personnel packages on offense, and the Rams defense has rotated in 12 different defensive backs this year.

And then there is the pairing of rookie ILB Omar Speights with veteran ILB Christian Rozeboom. You can bet that Speights is studying video footage with every waking moment to ensure an improved role in stopping Barkley this time around.

The Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs will be more chess than checkers, as both teams have a great deal of talent and plenty to play of. The game pits two teams with incredibly talented offensive and defensive lines to duke it out in the trenches. The Eagles won Round 1. I'm not convinced they win Round 2. Stay tuned.

As always, thanks for reading.

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