Turnovers set the stage for the Los Angeles Rams to get out to an early lead against the Philadelphia Eagles, and it was a lead they would never relinquish, as they wrapped up their second win of the young NFL season.
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STORY OF THE GAME
Running back Miles Sanders put the ball on the ground early to give the Rams a short field to open the scoring, and that boost let the Rams offense look extremely comfortable early on.
Only four of Jared Goff’s first-quarter pass attempts (40%) were straight dropbacks, with the team utilizing a spectrum of moving pockets and bootlegs to get him on the move and stress the Eagles defense. At one point, the Rams led 21-3, and though the Eagles were able to make it a closer game than that, it told a more accurate reflection of the gulf between the two sides for most of the day.
Carson Wentz dug the hole deeper with an interception as the Eagles were trying to peg back the lead. Wentz struggled for much of the game and did so without being under a lot of pressure from the Rams' defensive front. We saw brief appearances of Jalen Hurts on the field, though not in place of Wentz, rather split out as a gimmick threat on certain plays.
Cooper Kupp put the ball on the ground on a punt return to make this game closer than it was for much of the 60 minutes, but in the end, the Rams just made significantly fewer mistakes than the Eagles, averaging two full yards per play more on offense and averaging two more points per drive.
Philadelphia’s usually elite pass-rush was barely able to affect Goff all game, putting him under pressure on just nine of 45 dropbacks. And while Goff did indeed struggle on those dropbacks, there just weren’t enough of them for it to have any bearing on the final score.
ROOKIE WATCH
Jalen Reagor played most of the game for the Eagles and caught four of his five targets, but the fifth was a drop, which won’t help his PFF grade. John Hightower played a handful of snaps on offense, too, but we also saw some cameo snaps from Jalen Hurts as the team starts to work him into some kind of role on offense. Seventh-round pick Casey Toohill played 19 snaps on the edge for the Eagles but was largely unable to make his mark.
For the Rams, Cam Akers went out injured early in the game after just three snaps on offense. Fellow second-round pick Van Jefferson fared better, catching all four passes thrown his way in the game for 45 yards, including an excellent play down the sideline for a big first down. On defense, safety Jordan Fuller played all game and was particularly solid against the run, racking up seven tackles and an assist, even if the average depth of those tackles was 8.25 yards downfield.
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