Eagles-Rams Film Preview
Iâm not the biggest fan of Eagles game previews, mainly because I donât have the time to watch even more film during the season. But itâs the playoffs! Letâs get into the Rams.
Full disclosure: I struggle with previews because thereâs too much to talk about. I could go on forever. So, I wonât break this down into strengths and weaknesses. Iâm just going to give a bunch of thoughts about the Rams after watching as much film as possible and looking at the stats. I use a bunch of stats in this one, and credit goes to Team Rankings, PFF, and Sports Info Solutions. Lastly, my podcast co-host @ShaneHaffNFL is responsible for putting some of the graphics together in this one. Iâll use some film from the Eagles week 12 matchup, too. Letâs go!
Rams Offense vs. Eagles Defense
This is a very diverse Ramsâ offense that can win in numerous ways. I would describe them as a good, not great, team. The numbers back that up.
Sean McVay is a fantastic offensive mind. Heâs changed the Ramsâ offense a lot over the past few years, and itâs a lot more multiple than it used to be. However, a leopard doesnât change its spots. Itâs still a Sean McVay offense. You can expect to see a lot of 11 personnel, motion, and play-action. The Eagles saw a similar offense this past week which should help them prepare for this one. The Eagles must be disciplined to deal with the play action bootlegs.
Letâs focus on the passing game first. Matthew Stafford has superstar ability. The arm talent and funky arm angles he can throw from are rare. If the Ramsâ offensive line keeps him clean, he will be hard to stop. However, Stafford is a statue in the pocket and does not want to get hit. If the Eagles can get pressure early, Stafford will really struggle. The Rams were 0/8 against the Eagles on 3rd down in week 12 because the Eagles did a good job getting after Stafford.
Despite what I just said, the Eagles should not blitz Stafford a lot. Stafford is too smart and he can shred the blitz. Brian Flores blitzed him a lot last week, and Stafford made him pay. The best way to get after Stafford is with simulated pressure, such as âWhipâ, a Vic Fangio favorite! Annoyingly, Nakobe Dean is usually the blitzing linebacker on Whip, which makes his injury even more annoying.
8) Nakobe Dean again on Whip! Sweat does enough dropping into coverage and Dean completely blows up the back. Fangio’s defense is perfect for Dean because it allows him to blitz a few times a game and Dean is taking full advantage of this freedom. Look at the coverage too! pic.twitter.com/eU0ydVMID6
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 26, 2024
The Rams use a lot of condensed splits. They will test the Eaglesâ defense in the middle of the field a lot, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles cope without Nakobe Dean. Expect to see a lot of this. Puka Nacua is excellent. He is outstanding at playing through contact and has great hands. Heâs a brilliant run blocker, and the Rams will use him in the C-gap too.
2) This is the perfect call by the Rams against this coverage. Puka Nacua has great leverage against Quinyon Mitchell and he still only just beats him. That’s the sign of an outstanding cornerback. Quinyon can’t cover this a lot better. Also, I would love Jordan Davis to be able⊠pic.twitter.com/YscRr89uus
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 26, 2024
The best offensive minds know how to go after a weakness. The Eagles may have a weakness at linebacker in this one. I expect the Rams to run a lot of Hi-Lo concepts from bunches/stacks to test Oren Burks/Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The Rams absolutely love targeting the middle of the field and I expect them to do it this week.
The Eagles had a problem with missed tackles in the open field this past week. Keep an eye on short throws to Puka Nacua in this one. Luckily, Cooper Kupp doesnât break tackles like he used to!
Letâs talk running game. The McVay running game used to be all about zone runs, especially outside zone. They are still a zone running team, but they run a lot more gap scheme than they did a few years ago. They pull their guards a lot more and love to run duo. When the Eagles played the Rams in week 12, the Rams had a lot of success early on running the football.
However, the Eagles made a schematic change immediately. They went to a 5-man front during the first drive, which nullified the Ramsâ running game. The problem is that the Eagles kicked Brandon Graham inside and moved Zack Baun to EDGE. Sadly, the Eagles wonât be able to do this this week. I expect to see a little bit more Jordan Davis this week.
Eagles Defense All22 vs. Rams. 1) The thing I enjoyed the most was how quickly Fangio adjusted. The Rams had a few good runs on the first drive and the Eagles instantly went to their 5-man front with Baun dropping down to EDGE and BG kicking inside. This is a fantastic play by⊠pic.twitter.com/pCAKdfBdQg
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 26, 2024
Iâm sad about Brandon Graham again.
9) Ah man, the Eagles are really going to miss BG’s ability to kick inside. It’s been so effective this year. He blows up this run.
I hope he does come back next year, but if this is the last play I post of BG, it has been a pleasure to watch him. An Eagles legend. This team⊠pic.twitter.com/zLkKac6bp2
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 26, 2024
The Ramsâ running game is led by Kyren Williams, who has developed into a great back. Heâs patient behind the line of scrimmage, and he breaks a lot of tackles. He lacks the explosiveness that Saquon Barkley has, but he is a tough inside runner who will test the Eagles ability to tackle in the open field. If the Eagles stop the run on early downs, then I think they have a great chance of stopping this Ramsâ offense on 3rd down. Outside of Nacua, the receiving core doesnât scare me too much.
Eagles Offense vs. Rams Defense
I think the game plan this week will be very similar to this past week. Sorry for those of you who want to see an aggressive passing game, but it might not be this week. If the Eaglesâ offense plays up to their potential, they should score some points this week. This Ramsâ defense is fine, but it isnât special. I will be disappointed if the Eagles do not play well on offense this week.
The big thing about the Ramsâ defense is that they want to live in a light box world. It is very, very hard to stop this Eaglesâ running game with a light box. The Eaglesâ run game, especially with Jalen Hurtsâ mobility, is tough to stop without stacking the box. The Rams didnât do well in Week 12.
4) Give me your best Jurgens/Becton nicknames. They deserve a name. Some of the combo blocks in this game were out of this world. Every single lineman was dominant in the run game. It was as good as it gets.
Look at the strength of Becton! pic.twitter.com/xx2YvKL4ZK
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 25, 2024
Ironically, stacking the box didnât work for the Rams either. The Eagles ran a lot of zone runs when the Rams played light boxes. So, the Rams started stacking the box and putting more men on the line of scrimmage. When they did this, the Eagles went to their favorite running play that excels against a heavy front. Counter.
13) Let’s end with the MVP of the league: Saquon Barkley. The Eagles ran a ton of counter in this one and it worked here again. The issue with stacking the box is one missed tackle and Barkley is off. No one can catch him. The Eagles OL do a fantastic job ‘pinning’ the Rams DL⊠pic.twitter.com/CUWELk7voU
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 25, 2024
I expect the Eagles to lean into the running game this week. I donât see a reason why Saquon Barkley should not have another big game. For those of you who have forgotten, Saquon Barkley rushed for 255 yards when these two teams met in Week 12
The Rams donât blitz a lot, so I wouldnât expect them to blitz the Eagles too much.
When the Rams blitzed the Eagles in Week 12, the Eagles looked comfortable. Hurts had several good throws to the middle of the field against the Rams. However, when I went back and watched this one, I still was not impressed with the Eaglesâ passing concepts, which isnât surprising, sadly!
12) Once again, good luck blitzing Jalen Hurts. The offense has been so good against the blitz this year. Hurts hits his back foot, throws a beauty on time to his best WR. Easy money. Hurts was very accurate in the middle of the field in this one. He’s clearly worked hard on this⊠pic.twitter.com/g0omns1gZI
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 25, 2024
Hereâs a random schematic note for you… Iâve seen the Eagles run âDashâ once this year. It was against the Rams. I would like to see more of Hurts on the move. Due to the Rams playing a lot of two-high shells, the Eagles will need to work the middle of the field again. I hope we see a lot of concepts like this as the Rams will try to take away the outside the number deep shots.
Eagles Offense All22 thread vs. Rams. 1) Unsure if this is a designed rollout or Hurts just takes off due to the space but it’s a lovely throw on the move to AJ Brown. The Eagles didn’t attack vertically in this game but were outstanding in the intermediate area of the field. pic.twitter.com/76sDyKnnXe
â Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 25, 2024
The Ramsâ defense does have some very talented young defensive linemen. I think Braden Fiske could have some success if he can win with his first step. I was a big fan of his coming out. Kobie Turner is another fun lineman to watch who wins with violent hands. The Rams have some talent up front, but I still think the Eaglesâ offensive line should be fine in pass protection. Not many teams have the talent to pressure Hurts.
One of the reasons why the Rams want to stay in a two-high shell is similar to the Eagles. They want to disguise their coverage. You will see a ton of post-snap rotation in this game. I wonder if we might see the Eagles use empty formations a lot to give Hurts a very clean picture pre-snap.
Overall
I will never feel confident against a Sean McVay team because I think he is a fantastic coach. You just canât count out Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams. The Ramsâ offense is capable of scoring points against any defense. However, I will feel pretty horrendous if the Eagles donât get this win. The Eagles are the better team by nearly every metric and they are playing at home. I feel pretty good about this one. Itâs the playoffs, though… you can never feel too confident. I expect the Eagles to play with another conservative game plan that relies on running the football a lot. Hopefully, it will be enough, just like it was this past week.
If you want more, Iâll be posting daily thoughts on Discord, which is attached to my Patreon. I recorded a Ramsâ preview which is only available on Patreon.
