Three Keys to an Eagles Bounce Back After the Rams Loss
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles let a signature win slip away Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, falling 24-20 to the Los Angeles Rams in a rain-soaked collapse. Philadelphia led 20-10 at halftime and held the lead until the final minutes, when Kyren Williams scored his second fourth-quarter rushing touchdown to complete the comeback. The loss dropped the Eagles to 2-2, and the path back starts with fixing what went wrong in front of a home crowd.
The first key is getting healthy. The Eagles entered Sunday already without wide receiver DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and right tackle Lane Johnson, according to USA Today. Then running back Saquon Barkley left with a hamstring injury after just two carries and was ruled out for the rest of the game. A shorthanded offense managed only 172 total yards, the franchise’s fewest in more than a decade, and the team cannot expect to survive in this shape much longer.
Health also matters on the other side of the ball. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard left with an ankle injury and was ruled out, thinning a defense that otherwise carried the day. The defense intercepted Matthew Stafford twice and turned those takeaways into 10 points, and the team still got outgained 415-172. When reinforcements return, the offense needs to hold up its end so a strong defensive effort does not go to waste.
The second key is converting on third down. Philadelphia went 0-for-12 on third downs, the most attempts without a single conversion by any NFL team since 2020 and the franchise’s worst since at least 1991, according to NFL Network research reported by USA Today. Quarterback Jalen Hurts finished 12 of 27 for 93 yards and was sacked four times, while backup wide receiver Darius Cooper supplied both touchdowns in an otherwise stalled attack. Head coach Nick Sirianni acknowledged shared blame for the failures in his postgame news conference, according to USA Today, and the offense must find answers before defenses keep the pressure dialed up.
Sustaining drives matters because it protects everything else. Every Philadelphia scoring drive covered no more than 35 yards, according to USA Today, meaning the offense lived off short fields and turnovers. A team that cannot extend possessions asks its defense to defend too much field too many times. Short fields covered for the problem against the Rams, and then the defense ran out of stops.
The third key is finishing. Leading 20-10 in the fourth quarter, the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line and came up empty. The Rams answered with a 98-yard touchdown drive, then after another Philadelphia punt went 79 yards for the go-ahead score. A strip-sack of Hurts sealed it. Winning teams close that game out, and the Eagles had the lead, the ball, and the crowd for most of the afternoon.
The schedule offers a chance to reset. The Eagles play Jacksonville in London next Sunday, a trip that takes the team away from the noise for a week. A neutral setting and a fresh week of preparation could help, but only if the offense shows it can move the ball again. Three fixable problems stand between 2-2 and the team Philadelphia expected to see this fall.