LOS ANGELES (AP) — Until Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles came to town, the Los Angeles Rams had started to build some confidence with four wins in their past five games.
That month of progress, particularly by the Rams’ young defense, was summarily shredded when Barkley went off for 255 yards and two long touchdown runs in the Eagles’ 37-20 blowout victory Sunday night.
The Rams (5-6) gave up the biggest performance by an opposing running back in the history of a franchise that began play in 1936, and the defeat exposed just how far they are from true title contention.
Coach Sean McVay had little to say that wasn’t obvious on the field after his defense allowed 481 yards to the 9-2 Eagles — a team that has managed to maintain the veteran leadership and overall depth that the Rams possessed three years ago during their championship run, but which they haven’t been able to rebuild since.
“There’s humbling nights like this in football,” McVay said. “It’s all about how you respond. I do know that this team has the capability to be able to respond, and we’ll get ourselves up off the mat and we’ll have a good week of preparation this week.”
The Rams would do well to remember that playoff contention is still quite possible in the mediocre NFC West, where Los Angeles is still just one game out of first place.
Everything else that McVay wants for his team is still a long way from happening, no matter what a few solid wins seemed to indicate over the previous six weeks.
Not much went well against the Eagles, who had an answer for almost everything the Rams tried on both sides of the ball. Los Angeles’ offense had a handful of solid drives, but the Rams’ defense allowed points in every quarter.
“You’ve got to look at the tape of this one (and) figure out where to go from there, as far as what you did wrong,” Matthew Stafford said after passing for two TDs. “How can you correct those things? Not going to let these guys beat us twice. This is the NFL. You play the game long enough, you’re going to have unfortunate nights. You’re going to have nights where you don’t play as good as you possibly can. You don’t ever want them to get out of hand like they did, but you’ve got to move on.”
What’s working
Puka Nacua and Stafford are the engine under the Rams’ offense, not the rushing game. The second-year wideout had nine catches for 117 yards in the 11th 100-yard performance (including playoffs) of his 23-game NFL career, while Stafford passed for 243 yards and held up well under five sacks and 11 quarterback hits allowed in a poor offensive line performance.
What needs help
The Rams began the weekend 18th in the NFL against the run. Barkley’s performance dropped them to 28th at 144.3 yards per game. Their problems are both in personnel and scheme: A missed gap assignment led to Barkley’s second TD run, but the Rams also lack the run-swallowing inside linebacker who sometimes makes up for those mistakes, as Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones did in recent years.
Stock up
Demarcus Robinson is having another quietly productive season as Stafford’s third option at receiver. His scoring catch against Philly gave him five TD receptions in the past five games. He also might be a good luck charm for the Rams: Robinson has never missed the playoffs in his nine NFL seasons.
Stock down
Kyren Williams had a rough outing while his Eagles counterpart starred. The third-year Rams running back fumbled twice, losing one, and finished with 72 yards on 16 carries. He also allowed a sack when he didn’t pick up linebacker Nakobe Dean in pass protection. Williams has fumbled four times in the past four games, and a frustrating season behind LA’s mediocre offensive line might be compelling him to try to do too much.
Injuries
The Rams desperately need right tackle Rob Havenstein back from his ankle injury after backup Warren McClendon got repeatedly exposed by Philadelphia. McVay has been cagey as usual about the severity of Havenstein’s injury, which has sidelined him for three games.
Key number
3 — The number of consecutive games in which rookie kicker Joshua Karty has missed a field goal.
Next steps
With a visit from powerhouse Buffalo followed by a short-week Thursday night in Santa Clara looming in early December, the Rams probably need to beat the New Orleans Saints (4-7) this weekend to stay in contention for a winning record. Trouble is, the once-struggling Saints have won two straight — and running back Alvin Kamara must be licking his chops.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer