PHILADELPHIA – Six players are out for the Eagles, four of whom are starters. So, of course, they’ll beat the Rams, right?
Uh…hmmm…
They still have Jalen Hurts, and the quarterback gives the Eagles a chance to win most weeks, but without two receivers, DeVonta Smith and Hollywood, without tight end Dallas Goedert, and backup offensive tackle Fred Johnson. The defense wasn’t spared, either, and will be without starting linebacker Zack Baun and starting safety Marcus Epps.
It’s remarkable, really. It’s only Week 4 and the Eagles health is in shambles. Sitting at 2-1 and coming off a blowout loss in Chicago, the Eagles need to find a way to get back on track, but it won’t be easy.
Perhaps this bears remembering: Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is 4-0 against the Rams’ Sean McVay. The last time L.A. beat the Eagles was in Doug Pedersons’s final season as the head coach, on Sept. 20, 2020.
Here are six thoughts on the game with a final score prediction:
ZACH ERTZ AND JONATHAN GREENARD
Sirianni was fond of saying that his offense runs through 6, 11, and 88 – Smith, A.J. Brown, and Goedert. Brown is gone and Smith and Goedert are injured. Ertz played 19 snaps after signing with the Eagle days before they went to Chicago. Expect more this time out and he could have more than the one catch he had against the Bears.
Greenard played 18 snaps. It was a good start, but his role should increase, especially with two starters gone.
JEREMIAH TROTTER
Ready or not, the backup linebacker who had an excellent summer will make his third career start in two-plus years.
THIRD QUARTER
It’s been a mess for the Eagles, with seven of their nine drives over the third quarter ending in three-and-outs, and they have scored just six points in that span through three games. Will they have this game-killer fixed by kickoff?
“As a staff and as a team, we’re working through getting better there,” said OC Sean Mannion. “You hate to do a lot of nice things in the first half of some of these games and kind of fall into a rut in the second half. It’s something we’ve been discussing each week, looking to get sharper and sharper as a unit and as a staff. I think we got some good things to work on there, some good thoughts moving into this week of how to improve on that.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
If the underdog Eagles hope to pull an upset, it could be with a big play in this part of the game. Look at last year, when the Eagles blocked not one, but two field goal tries from Joshua Karty. The final kick would have given L.A. a walk-off win, but Jordan Davis swatted it, scooped it, and scored it.
The Rams brought in a new kicker halfway through last season, replacing Karty with Harrison Mevis.
“I think Mevis has done a really good job ever since he came in halfway through the season,” said Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay. “He does a really good job with the elevation. They’ve done a really good job of shoring up their field goal pro, but there’s always things we’re going to try and look at in terms of where can we possibly dent and get around it.”
0 AND 3
That’s the number of turnovers and sacks, respectively, the Eagles defense has. The three sacks are the 29th-worst in the league. At least they aren’t the Dolphins, who don’t have any sacks, but the teams are close. If Greenard’s role grows, he could be the one to add to the total.
As for the 0 turnovers, well, Matthew Stafford just broke an NFL-record after throwing his 34th pick-6 interception in this, his 18th season. Maybe the Eagles can get one.
BALL SECURITY
The Eagles have it up three times on Monday night and are now 0-5 in takeaway/giveaway. That’s not the recipe for a successful season. Tank Bigsby’s fumble at his team’s 15 is hard to forgive. He only played two snaps in Chicago, and none after he coughed it up.
PREDICTION
Sirianni was asked during the week would be required to handle a Rams team that is talented and motivated after falling to 1-2 last week with a loss against the Broncos.
“We’re motivated also, and I have a lot of respect for this football team,” he responded. “We’re going to have to play our best game to date.” The Eagles could do that, and it might still not be enough. Without the Injured Six, the task is a lot bigger.
Final: Rams 27, Eagles 20
Season record: 3-0
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