Preview: Rams vs Eagles

 

The final NFC matchup of the divisional round will feature the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles. After both teams won their division in the regular season and handled their wild card matchup pretty easily, these two teams will meet Sunday afternoon. 

Philadelphia and Los Angeles met earlier in the regular season which ended in a statement victory for the Eagles. We saw a historic performance from Saquon Barkley after totaling 302 scrimmage yards with 255 of them coming on the ground. LA will look for that to not repeat come Sunday. 

Los Angeles will arrive in Philadelphia fresh off of a dominant victory a week ago. After having to relocate for their game and losing their home-field advantage, the Rams came out scorching hot and never looked back as they absolutely dismantled Minnesota. 

Like the Rams, the Eagles also took down an NFC North foe as they defeated the Green Bay Packers in their wild card matchup. It wasn't the prettiest of games for the Birds, but they got the job done and lived to see another day. 

Both teams come in very experienced. These two squads are some of the most recent NFC teams to make the Super Bowl after the Rams won it in 2022 and the Eagles made the championship round in 2023. Despite the big difference in the quarterback room, the rest of these offenses are pretty similar. 

Both Philadelphia and Los Angeles feature a dominant running back in Kyren Williams and Saquon Barkley. Along with featuring a two-headed monster in the receiver room. Devonta Smith and AJ Brown for the Eagles, and Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp for the Rams. 

The offensive lines are pretty sharp as well. The defenses are also pretty sound as well. Even after losing hall of famer Aaron Donald, the Rams are still at the top of the NFL in defensive ranks. And even with the Eagles getting younger on that side of the ball, they have improved in this aspect as well. 

A key player to watch on this Eagles defense is linebacker Zack Baun. Baun has been one of the most slept on linebackers throughout the NFL. He is due for a big payday after racking up the third most tackles in the league, and forcing the second most fumbles as well. If he is on his A-game, then it will most certainly be tough sledding for the Rams. 

Weather will also definitely play a factor in this game. What else do you expect on a Sunday in late January in Philadelphia. The game could see some snow and the wind chills dipping down into the 10s and 20s. 

Dealing with weather certainly favors the Eagles. The Rams are used to playing in a dome back in Los Angeles and have really not faced much difficult conditions all season. Philadelphia, on the other hand, only played three games indoors this season and one of them was in LA earlier in the season. 

In the end, I believe that it will be a tightly contested game that falls in the hands of the Eagles as they will advance to their second NFC Championship game in the last three years. The weather and the heavy load of Saquon Barkley will be too much for LA in the end and their season will come to an abrupt end.