Birds face another West Coast test
Another chance to clinch NFC East title awaits Eagles in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. » Stop me if you’ve heard this: The Eagles can clinch their first NFC East pennant since 2013 with a win or a tie Sunday, or a loss or a tie by the Dallas Cowboys.
It was the same deal last week for the Eagles, who didn’t get their shots to fall and now oppose the Los Angeles Rams at the immortal Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (4:25 p.m., NBC, WIP 94.1-FM).
Though the Minnesota Vikings, with an eight-game winning streak, are now the hottest team in the NFC, the Eagles don’t want to forget that both clubs are 10-2 and in control of their futures. The Vikings take on the Carolina Panthers Sunday. Oh, and the Rams are 9-3.
“We’re out here and we’re ready to compete, man,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “We’ve got an opportunity this week to solidify that space, that spot and win a division. And we want that to happen — this week. And so, we’re on it.”
To rinse away the grit and grime from last week’s loss to
“We’re out here and we’re ready to compete, man. We’ve got an opportunity this week to solidify that space, that spot and win a division. And we want that to happen — this week. And so, we’re on it.” – Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins
the Seahawks, the Eagles pulled out all the stops. Instead of taking the red-eye home, they spent the week at a four-star hotel. They practiced at soulful Angel Stadium in Anaheim, just a couple of home runs from Disneyland.
Instead of importing baseball star/Eagles fan Mike Trout to give the team a pep talk, they called Kobe Bryant and his five championship rings. Yeah, it really does sound like a script from a Disney movie.
The Eagles obviously need to remember they’re here on a business trip. And in some ways the stay isn’t just about adjusting to Pacific Time and the threat of wildfires.
“You don’t have a lot of family distractions that you ordinarily would have,” linebacker Nigel Bradham said. “You don’t have your friends and family coming into town like for a home game and staying at your house. You don’t have to prepare meals and dinner and stuff like that. All that stuff is done. We’ve just pretty much got to hang with each other and go to dinner with each other and bond with each other. Keep that chemistry going.”
Much has been made about the quarterbacks, the Rams’ Jared Goff and the Eagles’ Carson Wentz coming off the board 1-2 in the 2016 draft. Goff has thrown 20 touchdown passes and just six interceptions with the Rams. Wentz leads the league with 29 touchdowns and is the only player to throw at least one in each of his team’s games this season.
“I think it’s exciting any time two young quarterbacks like us face off,” said Wentz, who is buds with Goff. “I think it’s definitely exciting for the league. Jared and I both are excited about it, and it will be fun.”
The Eagles’ defense is coming off one of its poorest games of the season, giving up 24 points, its secondhighest total.
“Quite honestly, we had a lot of guys that it was probably one of their worst performances,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Our whole objective is to win the game, and we didn’t get that done. But I do like this sort of portion of it. I think we, to a man, we all recognize we played a poor game, and I’ll include myself in that too. And we gave up 24 points . ...
“It shows you a little bit about where our guys are, that that’s considered a bad performance.”
The teams that beat the Rams make Todd Gurley, who ranks among the league leaders with 939 rushing yards and 11 TDs, work for his yards and force Goff to beat him. And it’s not like Goff has a lot of firepower on the outside beyond Sammy Watkins, who will get doubled over the top because Robert Woods (shoulder) is questionable.
When the Eagles have the ball, Wentz had better be ready to match reads with Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich knows Phillips well, having competed against him over the years.
“When I went up against Wade when he was in Denver there for a little bit and had that defense, it was cover-one almost every snap,” Reich said. “I think he’s mixing it up a little bit more but still his primary DNA is that five-man rush, cover-one and just saying you’ve got to beat us. He has those guys playing well.”
Phillips’ third-quarter defense has enabled the Rams to outscore opposition, 92-13, in the frame.
The Rams haven’t given up points in the third quarter since Oct. 15, when the Jacksonville Jaguars got a field goal. The Rams have outscored their opponents, 55-0, in third quarters of their last six games.
“They built their defense off of speed,” offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “They’re not necessarily huge guys. (Michael) Brockers is their biggest guy. A lot of their guys are in the 280s, the 290s and maybe 300. But they’re real quick. You look at their 40 times, they’re 4.7s, 4.8s right across the board. Obviously, you know what 99, (Robert) Quinn can do. You know what (Alec) Ogletree can do.
“They do some stunts. They really just line up their guys and say, we’re going to beat you.”
That’s kind of what the Seahawks did, just lined up and beat the Birds. Only that was with veteran quarterback Russell Wilson scrambling this way and that to make up for deficiencies on the offensive line.
Wentz took some big hits in the last game, left tackle Hal Vaitai getting the business. Phillips had to have noticed that.
Then again, the Rams must prove they can stop an Eagles run game that ranks third in the league. And a team that’s not used to losing.
“I think everybody is locked in and want to get back to that feeling of winning,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I really believe that everybody took that loss, and knew that we went out there and gave them one.”