Rams can finally circle the date when they get revenge on the Eagles

The Los Angeles Rams are aiming for success in 2025. But to win this year, the team already knows that they will need to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles at some point. That is something this team could not do in two meetings last season. When it came to it, no team stopped the Philadelphia Eagles when it mattered most. The Eagles won Super Bowl LIX rather handily. And it was a snowy day at Lincoln Financial Field that gave the Eagles their stiffest competition.

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Rams.

By rights, snowy football fields favor north-south running backs. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is one of the best NFL runners at north-south running. And he proved it twice against the Rams. Barkley rushed 26 times for 255 yards and two touchdowns in Week 12. He later rushed 26 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the NFL Playoffs

The Rams run defense was helpless to stop Barkley.

Is third time the charm? The Rams certainly hope so. Because the Rams finished as the winner of the NFC West Division in 2024, they face all other NFC Division winners this season. So the Rams have known that they will face the Eagles one more.

They won't have to wait long. The game is slated to go at 10:00 am PT on Sunday, September 21, 2024. That is the NFL's Week 3.

Third time is the charm, remember?

The Eagles never fail to reload that roster, and the 2025 offseason is no exception. There is no shortage of praise for the Eagles grabbing ILB Jihaad Campbell, a player some had hoped to find on the Rams roster now. But don't despair too quickly. In that playoff game, the Rams did manage to convert the Eagles' offense into a one-dimensional attack: RB Saquon Barkley. They held Eagles QB Jalen Hurts to 15 of 20 passing for 128 yards. The pass rush shredded the Eagles' offensive line for seven quarterback sacks as well.

Former Rams defensive lineman Neville Galiimore sacked Hurts for a safety.

The Rams retooled the defense with run-stuffing NT Poona Ford, rookie DT Ty Hamilton, and a pair of inside linebackers in Chris 'Pooh' Paul Jr. and Shaun Dolac. The Rams also re-signed former starting center Coleman Shelton. While Shelton is not viewed as a pro bowler, he is the starting center who led the team to victory in Super Bowl LVI.

It's enough to give even the most grounded veteran players on the Rams roster smoldering optimism for 2025: Just listen to the quiet confidence in veteran QB Matthew Stafford's voice in this interview as the NFL Schedule Release took place.

No single roster move is going to stop Saquon Barkley. The Rams did add some of the best run-stuffling talent available, and they will almost certainly have a plan to do a better job in run defense in Week 3. Will it be enough? That's hard to say. But it will be their third encounter in the past two seasons. And there is that saying about the third time being the charm.

You can bet that many Rams defenders will want to settle the score after two embarrassing losses in 2025. And they just may do it in Week 3. Third time may be a charm this season.

We aren't the only ones who think so. It won't be snowing.

As always, thanks for reading

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