Philadelphia Eagles defeat Los Angeles Rams 37-20 for 7th straight win

Behind Saquon Barkley’s 255 rushing yards, the Philadelphia Eagles improve to 9-2 by grinding down the Rams, 37-20, on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The Rams drop to 5-6 after being outscored 24-13 in the second half.

With the Eagles attempting to run out the clock, Saquon Barkley ran to the end zone. Untouched for 72 yards, he pushes the Eagles’ lead to 37-14 with 2:44 to play, wrapping this game up in the same way he blew it open in the first place – with a 70-plus yard scoring run. That will do it for the MVP candidate’s night. He has 255 yards rushing on 26 carries, along with 47 receiving yards.

This hasn’t been the Rams’ night but receiver Puka Nacua’s eight catches for 110 yards has placed him among the very best at his position to open a career.

Following a 26-yard field goal, Philadelphia has now scored 17 points in the second half – more than its already NFL-leading average – to extend its lead in LA and put it on pace to win a seventh consecutive game. A Hollywood happy ending isn’t out of the question for the Rams. If you watched last week’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ matchup in this same stadium, you know how quickly momentum can shift. But if a rally is going to start, now is the time.

The Rams, trailing 27-14, push a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right with 1:32 to play — the third consecutive game they’ve missed a field goal. A bigger problem that has stuck around all game is their inability to convert on third down, where they are technically 0-5, although they’re really 0-6, with one being nullified by a holding penalty on the last drive. Philadelphia’s pressure blew up the Rams’ last drive and is now up to four sacks on the night.

Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell lives up to his name and scores his first rushing touchdown this season on a tough, 13-yard gain with 6:17 to play in the third quarter. That’s back-to-back 70-yard scoring drives for the Eagles since the third quarter began. Remember when we noted that Philadelphia led the league in second-half scoring, and that the Rams needed to close the gap before halftime hit? This is why.

A crucial (and controversial) pass-interference penalty on Philadelphia turned an incompletion on 3rd-and-16, 34 yards from the end zone, into a first down at the 3-yard line for the Rams. They take advantage two plays later with a pass from Matthew Stafford to Demarcus Robinson to trim Philadelphia’s lead to 20-14 with 10:51 to play in the third quarter.

This is why Saquon Barkley leads the league in yards from scrimmage. A 70-yard run to the house extends the Eagles lead only 11 seconds into the second half.

The first half ends without a shining moment from either team. When the Eagles opted against a long field goal attempt and were stuffed on fourth down at the Rams’ 48-yard line, the Rams got the ball back with two seconds on the clock. Before anyone could dream of a Hail Mary attempt, Matthew Stafford was sacked, and we go into halftime.

The Rams have just 111 total yards – they’re only running 24 plays, to be fair – to 203 for the Eagles.

It’s only the second quarter, with half the game to play, so why could the Rams’ failure to score at the end of the first half be so important? Philadelphia averages a league-high 16.1 points after halftime, and opponents have to keep them as close as possible. Keeping up with them is something no one has been able to do in the last six games.

Did AJ Brown catch the touchdown, or did he fumble it? Officials initially called it an incompletion after it appeared Rams corner Quentin Lake punched the ball out just as Brown was about to step out of bounds — but after a review, it was reversed and ruled a 6-yard touchdown, with 1:27 left before halftime.

Another field goal from Jake Elliott ends a drive that starts promisingly, only to stall inside the red zone. There is 6:17 left before halftime.

It’s not surprising that these teams have started with relatively few points. The Rams have scored only 13 points combined in the first quarter this season, tied for worst in the league, but the Eagles have mustered only 14. That has carried over to the second quarter tonight.

Philadelphia never established the rhythm of its first drive on its second, leading to a punt after six plays. Pay attention to whether this trend continues from Los Angeles: After allowing its first five opponents at least 24 points, this defense has limited its last five opponents to fewer than 24 points. That’s a turnaround, and it’s led by first-year defensive coordinator Chris Shula, the grandson of legendary coach Don Shula.

That’s the ninth rushing touchdown this season for Kyren Williams but his first since Oct. 20. Hope you had him in fantasy.

Philadelphia’s first drive ends with Jake Elliott’s 21-yard field goal. The Eagles had five plays inside the Rams’ 20-yard line before the kick and it’s not a shock they couldn’t punch in the touchdown. This season, they’ve scored touchdowns inside the red zone 57% of the time, which ranks 11th-best in the league, just ahead of Kansas City, for context. That’s slightly behind their TD rate last season.

Two big gains by the Rams’ usually run-challenged offense to start their first drive wasn’t the only plot twist to open this game. When Philadelphia attempted to challenge whether the Kyren Williams of the Rams had fumbled the ball, coach Nick Sirianni nearly didn’t get the red challenge flag out on the field on time. (He appeared furious at his coaching staff.) But after review, the play was a fumble, and Philadelphia gets a big early stop to crush the Rams’ early momentum.

Thanks for following along tonight as we watch ‘Sunday Night Football on NBC,’ featuring the Rams (5-5) and the Eagles (8-2). The Rams get the ball first.

Seven teams from each conference make the NFL playoffs: The four division winners, plus three wild-card teams. Here is where the Eagles and Rams stand entering NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football.’

The NFC West entered today with Arizona atop at 6-4 and the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers all just one game behind at 5-5. Today’s action has changed that order. Here’s the current state of the division after Seattle’s win against the Cardinals and the 49ers’ loss:

• Seattle: 6-5
• Arizona: 6-5
• Los Angeles: 5-5 (still to play)
• San Francisco: 5-6

Philadelphia has a much more comfortable cushion in the NFC East.

• Philadelphia: 8-2 (still to play)
• Washington: 7-5
• Dallas: 4-7
• New York: 2-9

Rams coach Sean McVay can become the franchise’s all-time leader in regular-season victories as a coach with a win tonight. He would surpass John Robinson, who also won 75 games, but in 143 games. By contrast, tonight is McVay’s 126th career regular-season game as a head coach.

Much has been said about Jalen Hurts as a runner, although it’s worth repeating. If he rushes for a touchdown tonight, he would have done so in six consecutive games, making him only the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to do that. He’s already the only QB in NFL history with 10-plus rushing touchdowns in four different seasons. But let’s talk about his passing during the Eagles’ six-game winning streak.

Hurts has completed 70.2% of his passes in that span, third-best in the NFL behind only Jared Goff (a potential MVP) and Lamar Jackson (a two-time MVP). And he has only two turnovers in his last six games, as well. The bottom line in his last six games: 17 total touchdowns for hurts and just two turnovers.

Matthew Stafford isn’t perfect. As recently as Week 10 of this season, he had thrown an interception in six consecutive games, which tied for the longest such streak of his 16-year career. The upshot is that when Stafford is at his best with his receivers, Los Angeles is tough to beat. In fact, 3-0 when he has thrown multiple touchdown passes.

With their ground game struggling, the Rams have to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford to have any chance of winning. And they’ve done that: Coming off a win in New England where they allowed zero sacks, the Rams have allowed only 21 sacks and 117 pressures, both of which are top-10 marks.

But those linemen will, quite literally, have their hands full against an Eagles defense whose 28 sacks rank ninth-best in the league. Linebacker Josh Sweat leads with six sacks, but watch Jalen Carter (3.5 sacks) in particular tonight.

Philadelphia has run all over its opponents this season, averaging a league-high 181.3 yards on the ground between Saquon Barkley, who leads the league in scrimmage yards, and quarterback Jalen Hurts. If Philadelphia rushes for at least 150 yards and multiple rushing touchdowns tonight, it will become only the second team in NFL history to do that for six consecutive games – joining the Eagles from 1949, according to NBC research.

The Rams? Well, they have mostly run into trouble on the ground, averaging 95.4 yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush, the league’s third-worst average. It’s not for lack of trying; Kyren Williams, the Rams’ lead back, is rushing 19.1 attempts per game, fourth-most among backs in the league. Yet he hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown in the last five games. It would be an upset if the Rams had a breakthrough against the Eagles and their seventh-ranked rushing defense.

Through the season’s first month, neither the Eagles nor the Rams were ready for prime time.

Philadelphia started 2-2, sparking hot-seat pressure on coach Nick Sirianni. Los Angeles, meanwhile, was just 1-4 as recently as Oct. 19, after their bye week – their worst start to a season since 2014. For all the consternation those poor starts created, both teams have since authored two of the biggest turnarounds in the entire league, with Philadelphia riding a six-game winning streak that is the NFL’s second-longest active streak.

Since that streak began in Week 6, the Eagles own the NFL’s best scoring defense, allowing just 13.8 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Rams have won four of their last five games. Much of the credit goes to the play-calling – and the returns to the lineup of receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp – that has unlocked Matthew Stafford, who has thrown 10 touchdowns in his last four games against three turnovers. Contrast that with his production from his first six games: three touchdowns and six turnovers.

Since Nick Sirianni’s first season in 2021, the Eagles have won 42 games in the regular season, the most in the NFC. It’s a remarkable run on its face, including the fact that the Eagles should make the postseason as expected, it would be the first time since 2000-04, under Andy Reid, that the franchise had made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. Yet for the Eagles’ fan base, what matters is what happens in the playoffs.

Sirianni is 2-3, and after last season’s collapse to the end of the year, there remains significant pressure to ensure this season’s winning streak translates to the playoffs.