LA Rams jockeying for rematch with Eagles
PHILADELPHIA » A team the Eagles struggled to beat this season is jockeying for a rematch in the playoffs.
In resting key players including quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley and defensive tackle Aaron Donald this Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams and rookie head coach Sean McVay would be using the weekend as a pseudo-bye to get healthy and host a wild card opener.
“I know sometimes people might not always agree, but when situations like this come up, it’s a nice luxury to be able to have,” McVay said. “But you want to make sure that you handle it the right way for our team. It might not be for every team, but we feel like that’s the best approach for us.”
A win at home in the wild card round and they likely would get another shot at the Eagles.
If that’s the hidden strategy, it’s nothing short of brilliant.
The Rams are at least the third or fourth seed, guaranteeing them a home game in the wild card round. If they defeat the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, they’re the No. 3 seed. Assuming they survive the first round, that would likely mean a divisional game against the Vikings in Minneapolis. Good luck taking on that defense with the noise
inside the dome, Jared Goff.
If the Rams rest guys and lose to the 49ers, and the Carolina Panthers (versus Atlanta) or the New Orleans Saints (versus Tampa Bay) win, the Rams are the fourth seed. One of those teams is going to win Sunday. The Saints need a victory more than the Panthers, who, by the way, have a chance to vault all the way up to the second seed if the Vikings crash and a bunch of other stuff happens.
If the Rams are the fourth seed and win in the first round they would be the lowest seed and in the second round oppose an Eagles offense without franchise quarterback Carson Wentz and a defense that couldn’t stop running back Gurley.
Just when the Eagles get a few moments to catch their breath, they get wind of this situation. Happy new year. This is about as welcome as a prediction by Stephen Hawking, who says the over-under on the existence of Earth as we know it is 100 years.
“We’re happy to play them again,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox said of the Rams. “I mean, that’s a really good team. And (McVay) does a really good job of just creating different matchups for Goff. I think, you know, now that we’re at home it will be a totally different story.”
The Eagles haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 26 games, the longest active streak in the league. When they played the Rams at the LA Coliseum three weeks ago, Gurley was on his way to a huge game when the Rams switched gears. Gurley rushed for 55 yards on his first three carries, one of the runs nullified by a penalty. He finished with 96 yards on 13 carries, going over 100, and then losing yardage.
The Eagles’ 43-35 victory was bloated by a late scoop-and-score by Brandon Graham, now nursing a sprained ankle.
This past Monday night, Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch rushed for 95 yards on the Eagles at the Linc.
“I’m not really concerned,” Graham said. “Those boys, I mean they did it really good as far as attacking us on the edge a little bit and creating extra gaps. I think that’s
a really good team and we made the stops when we needed to but we’ve got some things to clean up. And we’ve got a couple weeks to make sure that we clean it up before this thing really kicks off.”
The Eagles had offensive success against the Rams until Wentz tore an ACL just before throwing his fourth touchdown pass over the space of roughly three quarters. Nick Foles technically set up the triumphant field goal that day, as well as last Monday. But everyone knows the Eagles have prevailed because defense has forced seven turnovers, and the special teams has blocked three kicks in Foles’ two starts.
The Eagles, ranked first in the league in points and third down conversion percentage, got just one offensive touchdown and were 1-for-14 on third down in their 19-10 win over the Raiders.
The Eagles are in a position — especially the receivers — where the regulars need game time to get on the same page with Foles. That means playing in the otherwise meaningless regular season finale with the Dallas Cowboys Sunday at the Linc … while the Rams are resting their good guys, in essence, to take another shot at the Eagles.
“That’s fine,” tight end Zach Ertz said. “That’s not all in their power. We’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves. I’m not focusing on the second round of the playoffs. I’m focusing on Week 17.”