PHILADELPHIA – How they got there was different than eight months ago. Instead of trying to overcome a staggering deficit, the Rams had blown a 19-point, third-quarter lead. But once again, the Rams found themselves needing a two-minute drill to stun the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford got them into position with quick passes to Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington, and running back Kyren Williams made the distance a little bit more comfortable for Joshua Karty to try to turn a one-point deficit into a two-point win.
But we’ll never know whether Karty’s 44-yard field goal with two seconds remaining would have been good or not, not after the Eagles blocked his effort for the second time in two possessions. And, this time for good measure, Jordan Davis returned the ball 61 yards for an exclamation-mark touchdown and a 33-26 Eagles victory, an uncomfortable echo of January’s playoff loss in Philadelphia.
“In the moment in this game, had a chance, drove down and they did a nice job on special teams two times there in the fourth,” Stafford said. “There’s so many plays throughout the game that can affect it.”
Like the seven out of 10 third downs that the Rams failed to convert.
The miscues kept a Rams defense on the field for 18:26 of game time in the second half. A group that had stalled the Eagles (3-0) with four straight three-and-outs to close the first half and a strip-sack by Jared Verse to open the third soon began to fatigue, just as Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts started to connect with A.J. Brown (six catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, all in the second half) and Dallas Goedert (one catch, a 33-yard TD).
Stafford went 1-for-7 on third down while taking a sack, blaming the misses on his execution of the throws.
“Had our chances really in all phases probably to win that one and didn’t get it done, which is frustrating,” Stafford said. “There’s definitely plays out there I know myself first and foremost that I can be better physically throwing the ball.”
And like last year against the Eagles, red-zone execution was a problem. They converted once on four visits, when Verse’s forced fumble gave them the ball on Eagles 10, by hitting Williams in the flat for an easy touchdown.
Williams appeared to have a rushing TD in the first half, but it was called back after a holding call in which center Coleman Shelton grabbed an Eagle by his legs and upended him.
A touchdown instead of a field goal on any of those possessions, and the Rams win this game. The same can be said about the two blocked kicks, on the team’s last two possessions. If Karty makes the first, then all the Rams would have to do was recover an onside kick when the Eagles failed their two-point try after Devonta Smith’s touchdown with 1:48 to play.
“Kevin Dotson was …” head coach Sean McVay began to explain, before deciding not to delve into the cramps that kept his right guard going in and out of the game. “The reality is that we gotta execute better. Credit to them, they made the plays. I’m not going to make any excuses.”
“Both of them were on my side, so whatever it is, I gotta be a lot stouter,” right tackle Rob Havenstein added.
Despite the similarities between the endings, McVay struck a very different tone after this game than he did back in January, when shock was his prevailing emotion. This was Week 3, after all, not the end of the season.
He tried to convey that message to his team after the game.
“Here’s where we learn about ourselves,” McVay repeated for reporters. “You’re 2-0, you don’t learn about anybody. But when you do have a loss like this, I want to see what we’re about. And I know what we’re about. I know we’re going to respond. Can’t let the Eagles beat us twice.”
Still, the postgame locker room was appropriately subdued. Many players hadn’t removed their shoulder pads before reporters entered, still processing how quickly it had shifted.
The lone exception was Williams, who instead seemed invigorated by what had just occurred.
“I know I’m more hungry now than ever because I hate the Eagles but they put us through something that we need to get put through,” he said. “And I’m glad that it happened this early in the season because it’s only going to make us better later in the season. You never know what’s going to happen when it comes to those times in the playoffs where we need to dig down deep and find ourselves. Every man in this locker room is going to be able to do that now because of this experience here. So man, I’m just excited; excited for the journey, excited for this team, the individuals in my room. We’re going to keep punching that clock and going to work.”