New NFL prediction delivers bad news for Rams defense going into Week 3

The Los Angeles Rams defense has certainly been the star so far after two games this season.

L.A. is tops in the NFL in points allowed with just 14.0 points per game, and fourth-ranked overall with just 258.5 yards per game.

Still, it's too early to know if Los Angeles is incredibly good at defense, or if the first two opponents were simply not so hot on offense. Despite early heroics of veteran inside linebacker Nate Landman, one NFL website is already predicting significant troubles in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The greatest concern for fans is the run defense, which has allowed 111.5 rushing yards per game (17th-ranked). Unfortunately, those fears may be well-founded, as the two opponents faced thus far are not particularly adept at running the football. The Houston Texans (99.0 rushing yards per game) and the Tennessee Titans (90.0 rushing yards per game) both ran better than their averages in their respective games.

The Philadelphia Eagles average 140.0 rushing yards per game. If the same trend continues in Week 3, they could put up 180-plus rushing yards.

That could be a problem. But NFL Spin Zone's Ryan Heckman expects Los Angeles' defense to overcompensate, opening the door for Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to torch the secondary for 250 passing yards and three touchdowns.

Hmmm.

Rams secondary continues to be underestimated

The same offseason bias that decried the secondary is lingering through the early part of 2025, despite the solid performance of the group so far. After two games, the pass defense is averaging just 147.0 passing yards per game, has allowed just one passing touchdown, and has recorded in interception. That is good enough for fourth place in the NFL

Best of all, the longest completion against the secondary is just 26 yards, the best in the NFL so far.

Those facts do not stop Heckman from a Chicken Little impersonation, crying the "sky is falling" in Week 3. What makes this prediction curiously contrarian is the fact Hurts is only averaging 119 net passing yards per game with no passing touchdowns thrown so far. Only the Tennessee Titans are worse.

Curiously, the pass defense held Hurts in check in both contests last season. In the Week 12 contest, Hurts only managed to complete 15 of 22 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown, getting sacked once in the process. In the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, Hurts was only able to complete 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards. In that game, he was sacked seven times for a loss of 63 yards. Combined, Hurts completed 30 of 42 passes for 307 yards, one touchdown, while being sacked eight times for a loss of 75 yards.

That works out to averaging 232 net passing yards in two games, or 166 net passing yards per game.

While the Rams are without cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon in Week 3, the secondary still boasts Darious Williams, Cobie Durant, Emmanuel Fobes Jr., Quentin Lake, Kam Curl, Kam Kinchens, and Jaylen McCollough.

And then there is the matter of the pass rush that is just starting to heat up.

It seems to be a significant stretch of the imagination for an NFL quarterback to accomplish something he failed to accomplish in his past two attempts. In fact, the last time Hurts threw for three touchdown passes in a game was Week 17 in 2023 in a road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The last time he threw for 250-plus passing yards was a Week 15 win in 2024 over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Eagles do not put the outcome of games on his shoulders. He is more game manager than an engineer of comeback heroics, and with superstar running back Saquon Barkley, Hurts can ease into that role. Still, the Rams defense had played Hurts very well in 2024 and appears to be even better this year.

Not all predictions pan out. The same author predicted the defense shutting out Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward. The same website whiffed on a prediction calling for the offense to score 40 points in Week 2.

It's never easy to scry NFL outcomes via a crystal ball. Fans have no reason to expect this prediction to be any more accurate.

As always, thanks for reading.

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