Eagles Set to Face Rams in NFC Divisional Round

After Monday Night Football, where the Rams beat the Vikings 27-9, the Divisional Round was set across the NFL.

8 teams are left in the NFL postseason vying for a spot to play in Super Bowl LIX. The Philadelphia Eagles are one of them and the stage is officially set across both the AFC and NFC. On Saturday, we’ll see both the #1 seeds from each conference for the first time this postseason. Will the Kansas City Chiefs continue to have extremely good luck and move on to the AFC Championship or will the Houston Texans pull the upset? Can the Detroit Lions make another push to the NFC Championship and further their chances to appear in their first-ever Super Bowl? Or will the Washington Commanders continue to strike with their remarkable rookie quarterback?

Let’s be honest, Sunday is when things are expected to be exciting with two games of (more so) evenly matched teams. While I do think the Ravens/Bills game will be a hell of a matchup, that’s not why we’re here. We’re here for the best football team in the greatest city in the world: the Philadelphia Eagles as the host the Los Angeles Rams. Let’s break down this matchup.

The Good: O-Line, Running, and Defense

The Eagles have the best offensive line in all of football, which can be proven by simply watching them in action. The single greatest stat to help this also leads to the other thing the Eagles are the best in the league with this year: rushing. Without the dominant O-Line, Saquon Barkley doesn’t come within 101 yards of the single-season record for rushing yards. I do believe that Barkely and the Eagles’ run game would be top-tier if our O-Line wasn’t as good as it was, but the entire package makes for a scary offense. It’s not just Barkley, Kenneth Gainwell is having a great rushing year too. You can also look at the Wild Card game last week and see how long Jalen Hurts had to throw the ball – as mentioned on Post Game Pod, any one of the GENY crew could have likely made a pass with that kind of time (not as good-looking, but still).

We’re not only firing on all cylinders with our O-Line and rushing but on the other side of the ball too. According to Fox Sports, the Eagles are the #1 Defense overall for the season just allowing an average of 278.4 yards per game. To put that in perspective, the #2 Defense, the Titans, are allowing an average of 311.2 yards per game.

If that isn’t enough to get you ready for an Eagles divisional round this Sunday, the Rams are at a couple of different disadvantages.

1. They have to travel across the country. This isn’t necessarily a game changer; the Eagles did it earlier this season and beat the Rams, but it’s still a disadvantage that can’t be discounted.
2. They are playing in Philly. Across all our sports teams, one of the greatest advantages we have is that the stadium and the crowd act as one with the team. It’s another level to come and play in Philly and it makes it that much harder to win a game here.
3. The Rams have a short week. How the NFL let this happen is beyond me, but not only are the Rams going to have to contend with travel and playing in Philly, but they’ll have to do it on a day less rest. This is huge, especially in the postseason where teams and players are playing with their all.

Do We Need to Worry: Jalen Hurts and Jake Elliott

If I’m being honest, I’m not especially worried about Jalen Hurts. I think this team is built differently and needing the version Jalen Hurts from 2022 isn’t important. I am a little worried about his running because that is ultimately a threat we need to help the overall offense, but I truly do think a lot of what we saw against Green Bay had to do with Hurts having some rust he had to shake off. Jalen Hurts is not my worry.

Jake Elliott, however, is.

Sigh… our beautiful baby boy, Jake Elliott. I don’t know what is going on with him—has he lost the power in his leg? Is this something mental? Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s going to get resolved anytime soon and there is no other answer during this postseason. Not only are field goals longer than 50 yards a concern, but the extra point is also a concern. More importantly, if this game comes down to needing to kick a field goal to stay alive or win the game, our offense now has to cover more of the field to give Elliott a shot at making it.

How are you feeling about Sunday’s game and facing the Rams? Are you worried or do you think we have a reasonable chance to punch our way to the NFC Championship? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.