The Los Angeles Rams were mostly in control during Sunday’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, but a special teams collapse in the fourth quarter turned what looked like a convincing win into a demoralizing 33-26 loss.
Los Angeles started red hot and jumped to an early lead behind quarterback Matthew Stafford, who connected with wide receiver Davante Adams for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Wide receiver Puka Nacua recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game with 11 receptions for 118 yards. Running back Kyren Williams was the anchor for the ground game with 112 all-purpose yards and a touchdown reception.
The red-hot offense slowed down and struggled to finish drives. The offense stalled in the red zone, leading the Rams to rely on kicker Joshua Karty to make four field goals in the first half.
The LA defense was strong in the first half, holding the Eagles to negative passing yards — yes, you read that correctly. The Eagles had four straight three-and-outs after their opening drive touchdown, and the team couldn’t get anything going.
The biggest win defensively was the Rams’ ability to contain Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley torched the Rams in their last two matchups with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games, but he was held to just 2.6 yards per carry and 46 rushing yards this time around.
Defensive edge Jared Verse added to the defensive dominance to start the second half when he stripped Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, to set up Williams’ touchdown reception that gave the Rams a 26-7 lead. But after that, the momentum shifted, and the Eagles began chipping away at the Rams’ lead.
Hurts was finally able to connect with his receivers, hitting wide receiver A.J. Brown for 38 yards, and then on the very next play, firing a 33-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert. On the next drive, Hurts found Brown again, this time in the endzone to make the score 26-21.
After the Eagles blocked a 36-yard Rams field goal with 8:46 to go in the fourth quarter, their offense capitalized on the extra drive, converting it into a go-ahead touchdown scored by wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Despite the comeback and sudden momentum shift, Stafford marched the Rams down the field for a potential game-tying field goal in the final seconds of the game, but disaster struck once again. Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis swatted the ball, blocking Karty’s 44-yard field goal attempt and returning it 61 yards for a game-winning touchdown.
Talk about heartbreak.
The Rams’ defense ultimately fell apart in the second half, and the offense couldn’t finish red-zone drives. This is now the Rams’ third straight loss to the Eagles, despite their ability to contain Barkley.
The Rams will look to regroup after suffering their first loss of the season and are set to return to SoFi Stadium to host the Indianapolis Colts.