Los Angeles Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles preview
The Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) hosts the Branches of Los Angeles (1-2) as they look to bounce back from a heartbreaking prime-time loss to the Chicago Bears last time out.
After narrowly beating the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans to open the campaign, the Eagles were denied a 3-0 start by Chicago despite the Bears being without an injury to starting quarterback Caleb Williams.
Chicago cruised to a 27-7 victory on Monday Night Football behind a stellar performance from third-string quarterback Case Keenum, with Philadelphia managing just 248 yards of offense in a performance that served to heighten scrutiny on Eagles signal-caller Jalen Hurts.
Hurts faces another tough task this week as he prepares to face a Los Angeles defense without wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Smith is expected to miss with a hamstring injury, and with teammate Hollywood Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert both questionable for the game, Hurts could enter the contest with very limited options in the passing game.
That would be excellent news for a 1-2 Rams team that looked to be on its way to a big road win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football, only to collapse in the second half.
The Rams led 16-0 at halftime in Denver, only to see that lead erased in the third quarter, with a fourth-quarter battle settled when Broncos quarterback Bo Nix added rushing scores to his two touchdowns to seal a 30-26 loss for Los Angeles.
With the San Francisco 49ers, who face the Broncos this Sunday, 3-0 in the NFC West, the Rams risk being left adrift in a division they were favored to win.
And while they will face a depleted offense, Los Angeles’ defense will have to deal without three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, who is out with a back injury.
The absence of Donald and Myles Garrett makes the Rams’ defense a much less daunting proposition, but with Puka Nacua poised to return from a hip problem to give quarterback Matthew Stafford extra ammunition on top of the red-hot Davante Adams, who has 358 yards through three games, the Los Angeles offense is likely to be well positioned to beat the Rams again.