The Philadelphia Eagles are traveling to SoFi Stadium this weekend to take on the Los Angeles Rams. It’s a sneaky important game for the Birds.
In order to preview this Week 12 battle, I reached out to our enemies over at Turf Show Times. The ebullient Evan Craig kindly took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming tilt. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers about the Eagles, stay tuned to TST.]
1 – The Rams are 5-5 after starting 1-4. What went wrong initially and what’s since gone right to get back on track?
What went wrong was very simple and could be traced back to injuries. The injury bug took out LA’s top two receivers and decimated the offensive line, though not to the extent of the miserable 2022 campaign. Matthew Stafford could only do so much given what he was working with. The Rams have managed to get back on track again, by getting healthier. When Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp returned against the Vikings, Stafford had his best game of the year to that point by throwing 4 touchdown passes. That was only the second game Kupp and Nacua had played together since the season opener in Detroit. Plus the defense has been lights out since early October after struggling to find their footing early in the year. They have kept the team in every game (excluding that crappy Cardinals game) while injuries ravaged the offense which was quite unexpected entering the season.
2 – What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of this Rams offense?
This might be somewhat of a cop-out answer but the offensive playmakers are the Rams’ biggest strengths. We’ve seen the team when its top weapons are out and the results aren’t pretty. With Puka, Kupp and Kyren Williams all in the same lineup, this is easily one of the best offenses in the league. That was the case in the second half of last season when the Rams finished 7-1 and were scoring at will.
On the flip side, I hate to say this but the biggest weakness is Matthew Stafford. He hasn’t been consistent enough to make me feel confident in him for the homestretch. The injuries and other factors were not his fault, but sometimes Stafford has been erratic and overly aggressive and it has cost the team. Even in the Rams’ overtime win over Seattle a few weeks back, he didn’t have a great performance despite throwing the game-winning touchdown. Sometimes we’ll get duds like the MNF letdown versus Miami and then he’ll unexpectedly toss 4 TDs against the Patriots like he did Sunday. The Matthew Stafford experience is becoming a rundown rollercoaster at this point. We’ll have a little fun here and there but mostly you’re feeling nauseous over the feeling of what’s to come.
3 – What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of this Rams defense?
By far the biggest strength is the defensive line which is oozing with first and second-year talent. Kobie Turner, Jared Verse and Branden Fiske are absolutely awesome in their own right. They can really get after opposing quarterbacks and make them uncomfortable. Verse is an emerging superstar at the position and should be heavily favored to win Defensive Rookie of the Year after Turner was robbed out of the award in 2023 given the obvious Texans bias. The Florida State product has to be making GM Les Snead and the rest of the front office question whether they should trade any first-rounders in the future since he’s elevated the defense that much in Aaron Donald’s absence.
The Rams’ weakness on defense would be its secondary. Overall, the unit has improved after a rough start under first-time coordinator Chris Shula. Even then, the secondary lacks quality depth and if injuries arise, LA will be in lots of trouble. There’s also not enough high-end talent like a Jalen Ramsey to hold down the fort. The secondary should hopefully be addressed in the offseason, and any depth will be welcomed at this point.
4 – Jake Elliott missed three kicks in Week 11 but it seems like the Rams are dealing with kicker issues of their own. What’s the situation there?
Joshua Karty has converted on 80% of his field goals this season which seems great on the surface. However, he doesn’t have the strongest leg and Sean McVay is showing a lack of confidence in him after passing on a 52-yarder that would’ve put the Rams up nine in New England. The reason was that McVay admitted he didn’t have trust in Karty which is the best way to destroy a young kicker’s confidence. There were rumors LA would bring in kickers this week, but it doesn’t make much sense to me considering Karty hasn’t lost a game for the Rams. He was the team’s lone source of offense against the Dolphins, so it’s rather confusing why McVay is throwing him under the bus only a week later. My colleague JB Scott wrote an excellent article that explored this topic further and compared Karty’s situation to Jared Goff’s when he was in Hollywood. Trust me, it is well worth your time.
5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 2.5-point road favorites, what’s your score prediction? And then what are you expecting from the rest of this Rams season?
The Eagles have been on a freaking tear and there’s a reason this team has won six in a row. Philly’s defense is finally rounding into form, Jalen Hurts has also gotten hot and oh yeah, that Saquon Barkley guy’s pretty good too. LA is finally getting healthy and the defense has drastically improved over the last month, but give me the Eagles 24-20. Matthew Stafford is a wild card so I have zero clue which version of him we’ll get. Plus, Barkley is on another level, and I believe he’ll be too much for a strong, yet very young defensive line.
As much as LA fans hope the Rams will go on another second-half surge, I just don’t see it happening this season. Like their Super Bowl LVI counterpart Cincinnati, they’ve both dug themselves a hole that might be too steep to climb out of. The NFC West is surprisingly mediocre and will likely send one team to the dance which could help them. I expect the Rams to be every game the rest of the season, but unless one of the NFC teams ahead of them in the wild card standings collapses, the playoffs might be out of the question.
