The Los Angeles Rams welcomed the Philadelphia Eagles to town on Sunday Night Football in Week 12 and found out why they are one of the hottest teams in the league, suffering a 37-20 defeat to fall to 5-6 on the season.
It has been a disappointing year for the Rams to this point and that was again the case in Week 12. The good news though is that they currently sit just one game out of first place in the NFC West and are still in the mix despite their lowly performance at home against the Eagles.
The Rams were beaten in almost every facet of the game, although self-inflicted wounds certainly didn’t help their cause. That started on the opening drive when the Rams were driving down the field and appeared to be one the verge of taking one of their only first quarter leads all season.
That was until Kyren Williams fumbled the ball in the red zone, ending what was a promising start. While Williams is a talented back and was able to bounce back by scoring a touchdown on the next drive, fumbles have become an issue for him in recent weeks. That will need to stop or perhaps Blake Corum starts seeing even more work for the Rams moving forward.
Once the Eagles got rolling offensively, the Rams’ young defense had trouble stopping them, particularly on the ground. Saquon Barkley had arguably been the best offensive player in the NFL this season and that was on full display at SoFi Stadium.
In addition to a number of chunk gains, Barkley had two home run plays, a 70-yard run on the first play of the second half and then a 72-yard run in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. He finished with 26 carries for 255 yards and two touchdowns to go along with four receptions for 47 yards as the Rams had no answer defensively.
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Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/0h0Whzyn49— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 25, 2024
WOW SAQUON WOW pic.twitter.com/DliVWBTUVn
— NFL (@NFL) November 25, 2024
Touchdown number 11 on the season for Kyren Williams!
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— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) November 25, 2024
Jared Verse is a BEAST! 😤
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— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) November 25, 2024
Incredible throw and catch by Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua. 😳
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— Rams Newswire (@RamsNewswire) November 25, 2024
After the quick start for the Rams offensively, they slowed down considerably largely due to the offensive line’s in ability to protect Matthew Stafford, who got sacked five times.
Puka Nacua had another strong game with nine receptions for 117 yards while Cooper Kupp tacked on a late touchdown and finished with eight receptions for 60 yards.
Sean McVay wasn’t able to open up the full playbook though with Stafford having no time and as a result the Rams were 0-for-8 on third downs. Being without right tackle Rob Havenstein for a third consecutive week proved costly, so hopefully he is back from his ankle injury the next time the Rams take the field.
To cap off a disappointing night, Rams kicker Joshua Karty missed his only field goal attempt from 47 yards. He has now missed at least one field goal in three straight games, giving the Rams legit concerns at the kicker position.
All in all, it was a humbling loss for the Rams, whose shortcomings and inexperience showed up against one of the true NFC contenders.
What’s next for the Rams
The Rams’ margin for error moving forward is very thin, but they are still very much in the NFC West postseason mix. They will look to get back on track in Week 13 when they travel to take on the New Orleans Saints, who will be coming off a bye.
