Rams head to Philadelphia for NFC divisional playoff matchup looking to stop Barkley this time
Rams head to Philadelphia for NFC divisional playoff matchup looking to stop Barkley this time
Los Angeles Rams (11-7) at Philadelphia (15-3)
Sunday, 3 p.m., NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 6
Against the spread: Los Angeles 10-8; Philadelphia 12-6
Series record: The teams are meeting for the fourth time in the playoffs, with the Rams having won two of the previous three matchups.
Last meeting: Philadelphia defeated the Rams 37-20 at Los Angeles on Nov. 24. Saquon Barkley set a franchise record with 255 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards, and A.J. Brown caught six passes for 109 yards and a TD. Barkley’s rushing total was the ninth most in an NFL game.
Last week: Rams defeated Vikings 27-9; Eagles beat Packers 22-10.
Rams offense: overall (15), rush (24), pass (10), scoring (20)
Rams defense: overall (26), rush (22), pass (20), scoring (17)
Eagles offense: overall (8), rush (2), pass (29), scoring (7)
Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (2)
Turnover differential: Rams: plus-6; Eagles: plus-11
Eagles player to watch
Barkley finished the regular season with a club-record 2,005 rushing yards, 101 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105, set in 1984. Philadelphia’s star running back was held out of the meaningless regular-season finale against the Giants as a precaution by coach Nick Sirianni, and Barkley ran for 119 yards in his return against the Packers last week.
Rams player to watch
WR Cooper Kupp. The MVP of the Super Bowl in the 2021 season, Cupp had just one catch for 29 yards on his only target in the Rams’ win over the Vikings on Monday night. Kupp has just five catches in the past four games he has played, including zero in a 12-6 Los Angeles win at the 49ers on Dec. 13.
Key matchup
The Rams defense against Barkley. The Rams couldn’t stop Barkley the first time, and there isn’t much statistically that says they’ll stop him this time. Los Angeles allowed 353.1 yards on defense this season, including 130.0 rushing. Barkley became the ninth player in league history to rush for 2,000-plus yards, helping the Eagles average 179.3 yards on the ground, good for second in the NFL.
Key injuries
Rams: TE Tyler Higbee (chest) left in the first quarter against the Vikings and didn’t return. He was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. CB Ahkello Witherspoon (thigh) left in the third quarter and didn’t practice on Wednesday. Neither NT Bobby Brown III (shoulder) nor LT Alaric Jackson (chest) practiced on Wednesday.
Eagles: QB Jalen Hurts returned from being concussed in the first quarter Dec. 22 against Washington and threw for 131 yards and rushed for 36 against Green Bay. LB Nakobe Dean (left knee) was lost for the remainder of the playoffs after getting injured in the second quarter against the Packers. Dean made a career-high 128 tackles in the regular season.
Series notes
These teams last met in the playoffs in the 2001 season, when the Rams were in St. Louis. … On Dec. 31, 1989, Jim Everett threw a pair of TD passes and the Rams scored a 21-7 playoff upset of the Eagles in Philadelphia. … Philadelphia has won 13 of 14 overall and 24 of its past 29 at home, including the playoffs.
Stats and stuff
Rams QB Matthew Stafford, a 16-year veteran, completed his first 10 passes on his way to throwing for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against Minnesota in a game moved to Arizona because of the wildfires in Southern California. … Los Angeles sacked the Vikings’ Sam Darnold nine times, tying an NFL playoff record, and held All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson without a second-half catch. … The Eagles intercepted Packers QB Jordan Love three times last week, one each by Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay, and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff. Philadelphia ranked sixth in the NFL in the regular season in turnover margin. … K Jake Elliott missed an extra point against Green Bay. The normally reliable kicker went 28 of 36 in the regular season, missing six of seven from 50-plus yards. … Philadelphia finished with a single-season record of 3,048 rushing yards. … The Eagles fell 15 points shy of eclipsing the club record of 477, set in 2022. … DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson tied his career high with six interceptions. … Philadelphia’s defense, led by veteran coordinator Vic Fangio, finished the regular season ranked first overall (278.4 yards per game) and tops in passing defense (174.2 yards per game). It is the seventh time in club history the Eagles have led the league in total defense, also doing it in 1991, 1981, 1953, 1949, 1945 and 1944.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By The Associated Press
