10 Takeaways: Rams fall to Eagles 37-20 on Sunday Night Football

The Los Angeles Rams fell 37-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football in a game they had to steal. It’s their biggest loss since Week 2, when they lost 41-10 to the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams were simply outclassed and outmatched by a better football team. Here are my 10 takeaways.

1. Kyren Williams has an awkward problem and he needs to solve it

The Rams offense looked very good to start the game. Matthew Stafford scrambled for 15 metres, then Kyren Williams took a handoff for an explosive run to gain 27. Just as the offense entered the red zone, Williams fumbled, negating any early momentum.

Williams has an awkward problem and it needs to be resolved. He has now fumbled eight times in the past two years. That doesn’t include a dropped pass that ended up as an interception against the San Francisco 49ers last year. His fumble against the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago was also a huge momentum killer. Either Williams needs to take better care of the football, or we need to see more Blake Corum.

2. The attack started strong, but fizzled out

For only the second time this season, the Rams offense scored a touchdown in the first quarter. Early in the match, it looked like Sean McVay had been dreaming about his next match against Vic Fangio and was ready for the moment. The Rams had a strong performance against the New England Patriots last week and that seemed to carry over into Sunday Night.

Everything changed on the third possession of the game. The Rams led 7-3 with one more chance to take control. They had 2nd and 4th, but two straight incomplete passes led to a punt. It would begin a series of three consecutive drives ending in a three-and-out. The Rams finished the night 0-for-8 on third downs. Winning on early downs was crucial in this game and the Rams averaged nine yards to go on third downs.

3. Rob Havenstein’s presence at right tackle is missed

Rob Havenstein is consistently a name brought up as someone the Rams need to replace on the offensive line. However, as he misses more time, it becomes very clear that he is the glue for the offensive line. Against the Dolphins, it was Joe Noteboom who struggled at right tackle. While Warren McClendon played well at a spot start last week, he consistently struggled at right tackle against the Eagles. McClendon simply looked overmatched.

Havenstein remains an extremely underrated player and his presence over the past three weeks has certainly been missed. The Rams lack a steady presence along the offensive line and that is exactly what Havenstein brings to the table.

4. Rams had to win in the trenches and got blown off the ball

It was said all week that if the Rams wanted to beat the Eagles, they would have to win in the trenches. That’s exactly what happened at the start of the match. Stafford got time to throw the ball and lanes opened up for Williams in the run game. Defensively, Braden Fiske and Jared Verse were on the verge of taking over again.

That didn’t last long. From the second quarter until the end of the game, Stafford was under constant pressure when it came to passing. Meanwhile, the Eagles had their way on offense, especially in the run game. This was a big test for both the attacking and defensive lines and it is clear that they still have a long way to go.

5. That was the worst performance in a long time defending the run

The most rushing yards the Rams had ever given up to a single player in the McVay era was to Tony Pollard in 2019. The Rams had not allowed more than 200 yards since 2012, when Adrian Peterson had 212 yards. Saquon Barkley rushed for 255 yards on Sunday night. That surpassed DeMarco Murray’s performance of 253 yards for the most rushing yards allowed by a single player in a game in Rams franchise history.

Over the past two months, the Rams have done well defending the run. The Eagles are a different offensive line that bullied the Rams’ smaller defensive front and Barkley is a different kind of running back. Barkley had 136 more rushing yards than expected. The Rams missed tackles and consistently struggled to contain the Eagles.

6. The defense was undisciplined and lacks consistent focus

This was a talking point early in the season and it seemed like the Rams defense was starting to find its identity. It’s entirely possible that Sunday night was just an off game, but it didn’t look good. There were several disappointing moments in this game that went beyond just the rushing yards allowed.

With the Rams trailing 20-14, the defense put the Eagles on third down and 10th on 44th. That’s a favorable situation to get off the field and force a punt or a very long field goal. Instead, the Eagles converted, but offsetting penalties gave the Rams another chance to make a stop. Hurts then hit Barkley on a screen to convert a second time.

Later in the game, Tyler Davis jumped offsides on 4th-and-1 from the Eagles’ own 18-yard line. Both moments resulted in eventual touchdowns. The defense has a tendency to strive too much and throw fundamentals overboard. An experienced team like the Eagles took advantage of this.

7. The kicker is the Rams’ least concern after a big loss

The Rams lost by 17 points and would have been 23 if not for a touchdown against Kupp. While Karty’s missed kick was an issue, it isn’t one of the first fifteen things that should come up in this game. Yes, I understand the irony in bringing this up in a list of ten takeaways.

Even if Karty makes the kick, a two-score game turns into a two-score game. There is no big difference between 27-14 and 27-17. There isn’t a huge change in momentum with that missed kick. In fact, the Eagles went from a 94.4 percent chance of winning the game to a 94.5 percent chance. The Eagles’ offense had scored touchdowns on its previous two possessions. It’s just one of the many things that went wrong in this game. There are much more important issues to worry about after that loss.

8. A conversation needs to be had about attendance

I’m not entirely sure what the Rams are doing at this point when it comes to the fan attendance issue. On the broadcast that sounded like an Eagles home game. Those in the stands noted that it looked like a 70-30 split at best. There’s something to be said about SSL and price-gouging big matchups like this. It will take some time for the Rams to build a fan base in Los Angeles after 25 years away.

At the same time, the Rams have to get creative with it. This isn’t why the Rams lost, but in six home games, they may have had the crowd advantage in two of them. The Rams were not only run over by the Eagles on the field, but also in the stands. Next year will be ten years in Los Angeles and the Rams will, at worst, have had a losing record in three of them with two Super Bowl appearances.

9. Loss shows how far Rams are from rival teams

Everyone wants to keep comparing this Rams team to the team that went 7-1 last season. However, this team has not shown any level of consistency to do that. The Rams are a team that is perpetually injured on one side of the ball and inexperienced on the other. Not only did they lose to the Eagles, but they were completely outclassed.

The Rams are likely better prepared to compete next season, but this current version of the roster isn’t going anywhere. There’s a chance they can still get into the playoffs by winning the NFC West, but there’s not much confidence they can compete once they make it.

10. The margin of error becomes extremely small

The margin of error for the rest of the season is now extremely small. With a game against the Buffalo Bills in two weeks, that’s probably the only loss the Rams can afford. Winning the division is almost essential for the tiebreaker and now the Rams must beat the New Orleans Saints next week and the New York Jets on the road. That means the Rams should get season wins over the Seahawks and 49ers.

That’s not to say the Rams can’t do it and make the playoffs. However, that would just require a level of consistency that they haven’t shown yet this season. Last night was a demonstration of the gap and how far they are now. The margins are thin and with six games to play there is almost no room for error.