Battered Eagles can't hold off Rams in wet conditions, lose Saquon Barkley and Quinyon Mitchell in 24-20 loss
Published in Football
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles entered Sunday’s game with just about everything going against them.
DeVonta Smith (hamstring) was out. Lane Johnson (personal) was a late addition to the inactives list. Saquon Barkley (hamstring) dropped out early in the game.
Yet, the Eagles still had a 20-10 lead going into halftime. And they never scored another point.
The Rams mustered 14 unanswered points in a span of just over two minutes late in the fourth quarter to seal their 24-20 win at Lincoln Financial Field.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ second straight loss:
Offense held scoreless in the second half
The offense got off to a solid start thanks to Darius Cooper and his pair of touchdown receptions, including a catch on what was nearly an interception by Rams safety Quentin Lake. Jake Elliott nailed a pair of field goals, one from 29 yards and another from 56.
But the Eagles’ efficient offense disappeared in the second half. The group punted twice, turned the ball over on downs twice, and then punted again. Only one of those drives exceeded single-digit yardage — their 11-play, 62-yard drive in which they sputtered at the Rams’ 2-yard line and turned the ball over on downs.
The Eagles offense got the ball back with just over a minute left in the game. Hurts took a sack on first down, threw an incomplete pass intended for Cooper on second, was strip-sacked by Rams outside linebacker Byron Young on third down, and threw another incomplete pass for Cooper on fourth down.
Defense fails to come up with a stop
In the first half, the defense responded well to their struggles of Week 3 against the Chicago Bears.
The secondary picked off Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice — once on the opening drive by Andrew Mukuba, and again by Cooper DeJean.
The defense made other big plays, even if they weren’t turnovers. In the first quarter, Jalen Carter had a quarterback hit on a stunt on third-and-14 from the Eagles’ 22, forcing Stafford into an early throw that went incomplete to Davante Adams in the end zone. He was double-covered by Michael Carter II, who was starting at safety in place of the injured Marcus Epps, and DeJean.
Mojo Ojomo had a third-and-1 run stuff of Rams running back Kyren Williams on the following series, forcing a three-and-out.
In the third quarter, Nolan Smith Jr. sacked Stafford for a loss of eight yards, pushing the Rams back to the Eagles’ 40-yard line. The Rams ultimately settled for a 48-yard field goal attempt, but kicker Harrison Mevis pulled it wide left, and the Eagles maintained their 20-10 lead.
With Mevis evidently struggling, Rams head coach Sean McVay opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 from the Eagles’ 36 early in the fourth quarter. Stafford threw an incomplete pass over the middle to Rams tight end Tyler Higbee, who was well-covered by Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who started at inside linebacker in place of Zack Baun (concussion).
The Eagles defense was sound in the second half, until late in the fourth quarter. On the same drive in the final frame, the Rams had an explosive play — a 20-yard pass to Higbee with Campbell in coverage — and the Eagles committed a pair of back-breaking penalties — a Riq Woolen defensive pass interference against Puka Nacua and a Jonathan Jones unnecessary roughness against Williams as he was pushed out of bounds.
The Rams capitalized with a Williams 1-yard touchdown run, making it 20-17 in the Eagles’ favor with roughly four minutes remaining in the game.
Woolen was called for pass interference again while in coverage against Nacua with just under three minutes remaining as the Rams sought a comeback. The Rams marched 79 yards down the field, including the penalty, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard Williams run to go up by the final margin of 24-20.
Injuries plague Eagles
The Eagles entered the game without key players such as Smith, Johnson, Zack Baun (concussion), Marcus Epps (groin) and Dallas Goedert (knee).
The team’s injury woes continued, as they lost Barkley, Quinyon Mitchell (knee), Jonathan Greenard (ankle), and Tank Bigsby during the game.
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