Rams vs. Eagles NFL Playoffs 2025 Divisional Round Preview: Can Los Angeles contain Saquon Barkley?

The Los Angeles Rams will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. This is another playoff rematch for the Rams as they lost to the Eagles 37-20 in Week 12. The Rams have only lost one game since then, losing in Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks. Heading into this game, the Eagles might be the most complete team in the NFC. However, on any Sunday, anything can happen. In that first game, likely Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley totaled 255 yards. To have a chance, the Rams will have to contain him. Here are the five keys to victory this week.

1. Access Jalen Hurts with four for strength limitations

Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will have to choose his poison in this game against the Eagles. Does he load the box with eight and try to limit Saquon Barkley or play with seven in the box and force Jalen Hurts to win the game in the elements? It’s about finding a balance between playing with single and double security covers.

If the Rams play singles, it makes them more likely to go on long runs if the top two levels are beaten. This also forces Jalen Hurts to attack the boundary, where he targets AJ Brown well. Conversely, playing with two players leaves a lighter box. While Barkley can gain five or six yards per carry, it also muddies the picture for Hurts and forces him to attack in the middle of the field. Against two high safety coverages, Hurts is 15th in EPA and his passer rating of 92.9 ranks 22nd. Three of his five interceptions this season have come against two-high shells.

Against two-high shells, Hurts tends to hold on to the ball. His average time of 3.06 seconds to throw against two-high shells is the longest in the league. That leaves Hurts scrambling or taking a sack. The Eagles quarterback lost 22 EPA on sacks against two pitching shells in 2024.

For the Rams to do all of this, they need to be able to rush and win with four. Hurts is the best quarterback against the blitz this season. In the first meeting, Jared Verse had just one pressure on 19 pass rushes. Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are two of the best tackles in the NFL, especially against the bull rush which is Verse’s specialty. Shula needs to be creative with his passing schemes and Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske need to win inside. It is essential that the Rams win with four to avoid hurting the blitz. If the Rams can sit two with seven defensive backs, it will force limitation on Hurts and the Eagles in the passing game.

2. Attack the Eagles linebackers and mix them up in the run game

One important development in this game is that the Eagles will be without linebacker Nakobe Dean. Zack Baun and Dean have been one of the best linebacker duos in the NFL this season. Replacing Dean with a player like Oren Burks or Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is a favorable advantage for the Rams and Sean McVay’s offense.

McVay will have to find ways to keep the Eagles in their base defense. The most obvious way to accomplish this is through heavier offensive sets, such as 12-man. However, due to the quality of the Eagles defensive front, Vic Fangio is able to match the base with nickel. Still, if the Rams can integrate Fangio into their base defense, they could have an advantage.

Fangio’s defense does a good job hiding the linebackers. Still, the Rams can try to put someone like Burks under the microscope. Since the return of tight end Tyler Higbee, he has five receptions in consecutive games and has been a big part of the passing game. During last year’s Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers replaced the injured Dre Geenlaw with Burks during the game. Burks allowed nine receptions on nine targets. That included three receptions for Travis Kelce and three more for Isiah Pacheco.

Whether it’s attacking Burks or Trotter in the passing game in play action and on bootlegs, running at them, or exploiting them with motion, the Rams must find ways to isolate the depth of linebackers. A key part of this is mixing things up in the running game. Although the Rams have become a more gap-based running team, they run a lot of zones. Early in the season, the Rams blew a lead on 66 percent of their carries. It’s closer to 50 percent since the bye. Since Week 13, the split has been 52-48 in favor of spread-based races.

This is important for the Rams because since Week 13, Kyren Williams has a 50% success rate on zone runs, which ranks 10th in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Eagles have allowed a 55.3 percent success rate on zone runs this season, which ranks them 30th. To add to that, they’ve allowed a 60% success rate on zone runs since Week 13. Fangio isn’t afraid to mix it up on defense and bring back the 6-1 front he’s had trouble with. success in 2018. I did a lot against the Saints. However, if the Rams can manage both the gap and the zone, they may be able to create mismatches from that.

3. Be OK with winning ugly and taking long trips

The Rams have shown their ability to win lousy this season. In fact, outside of the win over the Vikings last week, this is primarily how the Rams have won games in 2024. Three of their last four wins came when the offense scored fewer than 20 points , while they also had victories against the Vikings. Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints.

One of the main ideas of the Fangio defense is to limit explosive plays. However, this doesn’t really affect the Rams. It’s an offense that hasn’t been explosive this season. They have become accustomed to having to work in the field. The Rams rank fifth in plays per drive with 6.52.

Last week, the Green Bay Packers had stretches of 12 and nine plays. They also missed a field goal after a 13-play drive. The Fangio defense makes teams work for points, running the field five to six yards at a time. This puts a lot of pressure on attacks as the game progresses. The Rams need to be willing to take long drives and not get impatient.

4. Play disciplined against Saquon Barkley

If the Rams beat the Eagles, it will be because they limited Barkley. That doesn’t necessarily mean limiting him to a certain number of carries or a certain number of yards. It’s more about limiting explosives and not giving up on grueling games. Part of the reason the Rams struggled against Barkley in the first meeting was due to excessive pursuit on the edges, especially by Verse.

Verse has had bad games and learned from them. The Rams rookie missed a combined eight tackles against the Cardinals and 49ers in Weeks 2-3. When the Rams played them again, Verse only missed one tackle. Since Week 12, Verse leads edge rushers in run stops and is third in run stop percentage.

Aside from Verse, second level and secondary defenders will need to fill in their gaps and take good angles. Barkley will likely have some success. However, the Rams need to focus on damage limitation. If they can keep his longest run under 25 yards, they’ll be in a good position from a run defense standpoint.

5. Protect Stafford and win on third down

A big positive for the Rams in this game is that they will have Rob Havenstein at right tackle instead of Warren McClendon. McClendon allowed three of the Eagles’ 10 pressures in Week 12. When Havenstein is on the field, the Rams are a much different team on the right side of the offensive line.

In that first meeting, the Eagles had a pressure rate of 28.6 percent despite blitzing just 16.7 percent. Two of the Eagles’ sacks came on third down, when the Rams were 0 for 8. On a top-down basis, the Rams’ offense wasn’t far behind the Eagles in the first few games. The Rams’ offense had a success rate of 47.5 percent compared to the Eagles’ 48.5 percent.

However, a score of 0 out of 8 on the third try will make the situation much worse than it was. The Rams offense simply needs to find more success on third down in this game. That means preparing well on first downs, then protecting Stafford on third down.