High-Flying Rams — Rams-Eagles Week 3 Preview

With no snow in the forecast, the Eagles will host the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field in a rematch of last year’s NFC divisional round.

The Rams, 2-0, have dropped three straight against Philadelphia, including last season’s snow-filled clash at the Linc—a game many believe was swayed by the weather. Regardless, it’s a new season from last — as you can tell with the Eagles’ offense — and the Rams have shown a dominant offensive scheme, backed by a well-oiled defense.

Week 1 for the Rams was not pretty, just as it was for the Eagles. They scored 14 points against the Texans (ranked 20th in defense) with almost 300 total offensive yards. Matthew Stafford threw for 224 yards, most of them to Puka Nacua, who finished with 130 yards on 10 catches. Their backfield of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum was certainly not a committee. Williams had 18 touches for 66 yards, and Corum only 1. Their week 1 output wasn’t anything jaw-dropping; it was eerily similar to the Eagles.

In the following week, the yardage through the air looked pretty similar; it was the ground game that helped tack 33 points onto the Titans. Williams rushed for 66 yards on 17 attempts, but Nacua and Corum both rushed for 44 yards on much fewer carries. It’s hard to call the Rams a run-first team, but last Sunday, they looked capable of pounding the rock all afternoon.

The Rams can ground and pound you all game long, but it’s through the air that they’ll take the life out of you. Stafford remains one of the league’s most reliable pocket passers, and with Nacua emerging as a star alongside veteran Davante Adams, the passing game is dangerous even without Cooper Kupp.

It is even scarier for the Eagles, who will be starting Adoree’ Jackson across from Quinyon Mitchell.

Don’t Let the Pass Game Eat You Alive

Sean McVay is one of the best offensive-minded head coaches in the league, and he was gifted a top-five pocket passer and one of the best young wideouts in the league, naturally. A breakdown of his film suggests he runs an 11-personnel at one of the highest clips in the league. 11 personnel usually indicates pass, but even then, he runs at one of the highest clips in the league. His goal is to keep the defense off-balanced and in a scheme they are not comfortable with.

Fortunately, Vic Fangio is one of, if not the, best defensive-minded coaches in the league, and he was granted a top-five linebacker duo with three young defensive backs who have proven they can play. We saw last week that he blitzed the Chiefs 11 times, which was the highest blitz % of Fangio’s Eagles’ tenure. In the previous Chiefs matchup? Fangio didn’t blitz one time. They won the Super Bowl.

Two true football guys at the top of their game going at it. You could say Fangio’s at a disadvantage with a glaring hole in the secondary in Jackson and a little less pressure from a rather thin defensive line, but he’ll likely design a plan centered on slowing Stafford and Nacua. At this point, you can even add Adams, who’s racked up 150+ yards combined in his two games.

Nacua lines up often in the slot, meaning he’ll likely be handled in coverage by the nickelback Cooper DeJean for the most part. When Nacua lines up outside, expect Fangio to scheme extra help for Jackson. With the threat that Nacua poses, I doubt Fangio will allow Nacua to get Jackson without serious help.

Last week, the Eagles did not play a legit wide receiver room, but in week 1, we saw a huge struggle with the Cowboys and CeeDee Lamb. After that, the Eagles can’t afford to leave Jackson isolated again. I think he learned from his mistake of having Jackson with minimal help on a legit receiver and will emphasize the importance of tight coverage and route hand-offs — sticking with your man until he runs into another defender’s zone.

That’s where priorities should rest for the defensive unit because all roads lead through Stafford and Nacua.

Blitzmania

On the front lines, they saw an uptick in blitzes last week, and it’s less likely we see many five-man packages sent against this Rams offense. The Eagles were so successful with four-man packages last year that it allowed better coverage in the secondary.

Per PFF, when the Titans sent an extra man last week, Stafford was 8 of 11 with 20 yards, two touchdowns, and a 90.2 overall PFF grade. That extra man sent is another man in help lost in the secondary, which is absolutely vital for the Eagles to lock down.

The game will be won or lost in the secondary. While the Eagles’ defensive line showed more blitzing last week, Fangio may lean on the four-man rush that worked so well last year. Stafford isn’t mobile, so collapsing the pocket without sacrificing coverage could be the key. If the secondary holds up, the Eagles can contain McVay’s offense.

Patullo Needs a Bounceback

The Eagles’ offense was comparatively stagnant last week against the Chiefs, and a few factors played into it. Steve Spagnuolo blitzed the Eagles even more than he had in the Super Bowl when they hung 40 points on the Chiefs’ defense, and wide receiver route trees were uncreative.

When Spagnuolo sent his blitz, more often than not, all receivers were running a rendition of four verticals. There was no quick option beyond the sticks, and Jalen Hurts had few options: Run it, take a sack, or throw it up. We saw all three options take place and even a fumble. It wasn’t pretty, and the film was even uglier.

For the Eagles to get a handle on this Rams defense, which has an excellent front line, Kevin Patullo needs to design craftier plays with options over the middle. Hurts’ passing chart had only one incompletion over the middle last game, and the best way to open up the defense for a big play is to lure the defense in with gains over the middle.

The Eagles may be 2-0, but neither game was pretty, and either game could have gone the other way rather easily. Early this season last year, we saw similar issues with the offense, and many were calling for Kellen Moore to be fired. These first few weeks are like a preseason for them, and it’s better off starting 2-0 than 1-1 like they were last year. Patullo needs to be a plug-and-play from Moore’s offense last year and trust that his QB can handle the ball without turning it over.

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