PHILADELPHIA — It was all there for the Rams’ taking. A 19-point lead over the Philadelphia Eagles early in the third quarter, the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field booing the home team, the opportunity to simultaneously validate themselves as contenders in the NFC and avenge last year’s playoff loss in this very stadium.
And still, despite allowing 20 unanswered points, the Rams had an opportunity to win, with Matthew Stafford driving the Rams into field goal range with two seconds remaining. But Joshua Karty’s 44-yard attempt was blocked and, for good measure, returned 61 yards by Jordan Davis for a touchdown and a 33-26 Eagles win.
A Stafford interception that turned into a Jalen Hurts “Tush Push” touchdown put the Rams (2-1) in an early hole. But beyond that, the Rams played a flawless first half on defense.
The Rams allowed 33 total yards on 22 snaps before halftime, holding Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to 13 yards on seven carries. The Eagles went three-and-out on their next four possessions. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula dialed up pressures, blitzing safeties to the right side of the line with Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson sidelined with a neck injury.
But the Rams offense wasn’t able to take advantage of the position their defense put them in. The Rams went 0-for-2 in the red zone in the first half, only reaching the end zone on a 44-yard bomb from Stafford to Davante Adams.
But it was good for a 19-7 halftime lead, and running back Kyren Williams dapped up every member of the defense coming off the field.
When outside linebacker Jared Verse flattened Hurts to open the second half, forcing a fumble recovered by linebacker Nate Landman at the Eagles 10, it appeared the Rams were ready to run away with it. That looked even more certain when Stafford found Williams in the flat for a touchdown and a 17-point lead on the very next play.
But the Eagles (3-0) won the Super Bowl last year for a reason. And they showed their resolve on the next two possessions. Hurts connected with A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert for big gains, the latter resulting in a touchdown. Then Hurts found Brown in the end zone, separating from cornerback Darious Williams to score.
As the defense gasped for breath, the Rams offense did it few favors. They opened 1-for-8 on third down, and did not convert on a fourth-down run near midfield, putting the defense back in a precarious position. A Kam Kinchens breakup on fourth down gave the Rams a mulligan, but a Karty field goal attempt was blocked at the line of scrimmage.
Brown took the Eagles down the field from there, stepping over Williams to convert one third down, breaking a tackle by Emmanuel Forbes on another. But facing fourth-and-goal, Hurts turned to Devonta Smith in the flat for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:51 to play.