AFTER we beat the Panthers 28 – 23 in front of the entire nation, naysayers had to pump their brakes on saying “Yeah, but the Eagles didn’t beat anybody good yet”. That roar turned into a mumble and most fans focused on games against division rivals. A few worried openly about our post-Bye, road match-up against the Seahawks.
Since the Panthers, the game that I’ve been low-key stalking, has been the one versus the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams had already caught my eye about two weeks earlier, when their starting RB called out the Dallas Cowboys on nation television. Conventional wisdom says, “Don’t hand out bulletin board material”, but then the Rams actually went out and did backed it up. At that point, it occurred to me that the Rams might be every bit as real as we are.
This is a measuring stick game between two teams who are actual peers. Our QB’s (Jared Goff and Carson Wentz) were taken one and two in last year’s NFL Draft. Our teams are the #1 and #2 scoring offenses in the league. We both feature a similar offensive style, and are built defensively to play from a lead. While we’ll both use a similar attack when we face each other, the winner will be better at it.
That is what makes this game a measuring stick. That is why I’ve been stalking the Rams for weeks now. That is why want this game so bad.
Fortunately for us, the Rams have a consistent and glaring weakness. They give up 123 yards per game on the ground. While the Rams starting RB has been the leading rusher in 6 of the 11 games they’ve played so far, the Rams as a team have been out-rushed in 2 of those contests and 6 times overall. Did I mention that the Eagles are the #2 rushing team in the NFL? Did I mention that we’re #1 against the run in the NFL?
I could go into it more, but I’m not trying to do an installation of Four Things, a week early. Let’s just leave it here for now, so that if something weird happens at Seattle tomorrow, you know it’s not false bravado that has me saying that we can beat the Rams.
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