Eagles-Rams: Players To Watch And Who Wins?

The Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams are both, with Philly looking to win its seventh in a row while the Rams wants to stay in the NFC West race.

Jordan Mailata gets some coaching tips from line coach Jeff Stoutland during Eagles practice leading up to Week 12's matchup vs. the Rams. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – After early byes, the Eagles and Rams picked themselves off the mat and returned swinging.

Philly was 2-2 heading into their Week 5 bye but hasn’t lost since, winning six in a row to reach 8-2 and climb to the top of the NFC East.

The Rams were 1-4 going into their Week 6 bye and have won four of their last five to reach 5-5 and put themselves in a position to win a wide-open, if somewhat down NFC West where they are one of three teams in the division with the same record and trail a Cardinals team that is just 6-5.

The Eagles and Rams collide on Sunday Night Football in Los Angeles in the Eagles’ second straight trip to SoFi Stadium, a place the Eagles won last year, 23-14. The Eagles are 3-0 in L.A. since the Rams moved out of St. Louis.

Here’s more:

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jalen Carter. He played 100 percent of the snaps against the Commanders last week, all 66, and finished with a career-high seven tackles. As a rookie, he went to L.A. and finished with two sacks in one of his best games of last year. What will he do for an encore?

The rookies. There are four to watch – Eagles Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and the Rams’ Braden Fiske and Jared Verse. One will be the rookie of the year, and if Mitchell and/or DeJean shutdown L.A. receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua they could be in the driver’s seat. Of course, if Verse and/or Fiske help control the Eagles’ run game or make like miserable for Jalen Hurts, then they could get a leg up.

Nov 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores on a 39-yard touchdown run during the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley. The NFL’s leader in yards from scrimmage is going against a mediocre Rams defense, at least based on their rankings overall and in stopping the run and pass.

Jordan Mailata. The left tackle played very well in his return last week after a four-game stint on IR, as you would expect. The line is just as responsible for an Eagles rushing attack that has put up at least 150 yards with two rushing touchdowns in five straight games, which is one away from tying the franchise record in that department. The team that did it six times? You have to go back to 1949 to find it.

Jahan Dotson. It’s time – it’s beyond time – for the receiver and the team’s summertime acquisition to make an impact, if only because DeVonta Smith is out with a hamstring injury.

QUESTIONS

-Can the Eagles’ turnover success continue? Since Week 8, they have scored 43 points off eight turnovers and lead the league at plus-8 in the turnover/takeaway ratio in that span.

-How big of a factor will A.J. Brown be without Smith? Brown leads the NFL in yards per catch at 18.7.

-Will Jalen Hurts continue taking good care of the football? He has thrown only one interception in his last seven games.

PREDICTION

This will be a good challenge for the Eagles, especially with a trip to Baltimore to play the Ravens waiting on the other side. Philly, though, has the better roster and won here last year. They do it again.

Eagles 31, Rams 21

Season record: 5-5

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