People around the league are finally waking up to the Eagles being a good team. It took a win over a tough Commanders team on a National Stage, but suddenly they are getting some respect around the league.

The Eagles had been beating up bad teams, or at least teams with bad records. There were impressive feats in there, like slowing down the Bengals’ good offense, but there were not many impressive overall victories. But beating a 7-3 Washington team that had been one of the bigger stories of the season, put the Eagles on the map.

Related: It’s Officially Time to Stop Doubting The Philadelphia Eagles

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

It gets no easier from here though. After a mini-bye week coming off a Thursday Night game, they get a tough matchup on the other side of the country, vs a Rams team that has won 4 of their last 5 games.

The Rams had a shaky start to the season. They were beaten up by injuries, and like the Eagles, they were relying on a very young defense. But they got healthy, and those young defenders like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, and Byron Young have blossomed. Based on EPA/Play, only 1 defense has been better than the Rams since week 7, the Eagles. It is why they have gone from 1-4 to 5-5.

The Rams will not go down easy. Their offense has been much more dangerous since getting Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back. With this game sandwiched between that win over the Commanders, and an even tougher matchup vs the Ravens next week, it has the potential be be a trap.

So how can they head out West and come back a 9-2 team? Which players need to step up the most? Where can the Eagles exploit the Rams? Let’s break down some of the important matchups for the Birds.

These 6 Players Need To Be Great on Sunday Night For The Eagles To Beat The Rams

• Quinyon Mitchell

  Quinyon Mitchell has been tested week after week this season and has passed with flying colors. Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, Drake London, Mike Evans, Cee Dee Lamb. He shut them all down, but he was not lined up against them all game long. On Thursday Night he spent nearly all game on Terry McLaurin, and McLaurin didn’t even get a target while covered by him.

  It gets no easier this week. He will draw either Cooper Kupp, or Puka Nucua vs the Rams. Either way it is going to be yet another tough test. If he passes that test again, on the National Stage for a 2nd straight week, it will be hard to deny he is the Defensive Rookie Of The Year, even without the stats to back it up. They will need him to be that great again with those 2 tough WRs coming to town.

  PFF on X (formerly Twitter): "Quinyon Mitchell: 25% forced incompletion rate this season 1st among NFC CBs ❌ pic.twitter.com/GqVCkIufLH / X"

  Quinyon Mitchell: 25% forced incompletion rate this season 1st among NFC CBs ❌ pic.twitter.com/GqVCkIufLH

• Jalen Carter And The Rest Of The D-Line

  Saying the whole D-Line may be a cop out, and it is true of every game. But it will be especially important this week. Stafford is a statue. He can’t move at all anymore and scrambles out of the pocket less than any QB in the league. He is not going to be able to evade pressure if the Eagles apply it. The surest way to keep Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua from hurting you is just to give Stafford no time to throw.

  Jalen Carter blew up the Rams’ plans last year in what was maybe the best game of his rookie season. He, Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat, etc, need to do that again. They have been applying steady pressure of late, even if the sack numbers are not through the roof. But with Stafford under center, if the Eagles get pressure this week, they will convert it into sacks. He is not going to evade the rush like other QBs did. The D-Line has a chance to win this game by themselves if they win their matchups.

  But Stafford can still sling it. If they do give him time, he can find the holes in the zone, and pick the Eagles apart. Fangio doesn’t blitz. Even when he sends an ILB or a CB, he is having one of his Edge Rushers drop back into coverage. The 4 guys rushing, whoever that may be, are going to need to win.

  The 1 thing we need to watch though is Carter over the 2nd half of the season. He played a lot of snaps last year and waned in the 2nd half. He is playing even more snaps this year, including every snap against the Commanders on a short week. Carter is playing at such a high level so far, but will he keep it up with this big of a workload? That is the only question the budding Super Star has left to answer.

  Shane Haff on X (formerly Twitter): "Jalen Carter is a bad man pic.twitter.com/m2SXbhUsiO / X"

  Jalen Carter is a bad man pic.twitter.com/m2SXbhUsiO

• The Eagles O-Line

  I cheated by using the entire D-Line, so I might as well also use the entire O-Line. The strength of this Rams defense is its D-Line. They are young, and they are talented. Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse. All 4 of them have at least 4.5 sacks. The Eagles O-Line will have its work cut out for them. They have faced and shut down individual pass rushers who presented a problem this season, but this will be the toughest unit they faced yet, where multiple guys present a threat.

  They are all healthy for the 2nd straight game, so that helps. As a unit, despite the many injuries, they are 2nd in Pass Block Win rate. So they have been elite. But the Rams will test just how elite they are. The Rams Secondary is not terrible, but it is vulnerable. If Hurts gets time, Smith and Brown should win their matchups. But with the Rams D-Line being this dangerous, there is no guarantee they get that time.

  All-22 on X (formerly Twitter): "The Rams have done a nice job of rebuilding their defensive front:🐏 Jared Verse🐏 Kobie Turner🐏 Bobby Brown III🐏 Byron Young🐏 Braden Fiskepic.twitter.com/A4XBTAAgXs / X"

  The Rams have done a nice job of rebuilding their defensive front:🐏 Jared Verse🐏 Kobie Turner🐏 Bobby Brown III🐏 Byron Young🐏 Braden Fiskepic.twitter.com/A4XBTAAgXs

• Saquon Barkley

  What is the best way to stop a pass rush? Run the ball well. That has not been an issue for the Eagles all season, with Barkley being right next to Derrick Henry for the best back in the league. The Ram have been pretty decent at stopping the run though. They are right next to the Eagles in yards allowed per rush, where the Rams allow 4.3 and the Eagles 4.1, both top 10 in the league.

  But what the Eagles have proven is they can wear a team down. You can stop the run for 3 quarters, but eventually, Barkley breaks one, and the floodgates are open. Barkley just needs to keep doing what he has been doing. Keep putting up the big numbers on the ground, let the clock run, and beat up the Rams front 7. Not only will it obviously help put points on the board, but it will keep the Rams pass rushers in check.

  Philadelphia Eagles on X (formerly Twitter): "Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.RT this if you love Saquon Barkley.Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/e4TKKo3rSN / X"

  Like this if you love Saquon Barkley.RT this if you love Saquon Barkley.Reply that you love Saquon Barkley.@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/e4TKKo3rSN

• Jalen Hurts

  The Eagles have been getting out to slow starts on offense. That is not all on Hurts, but it is a bit on Hurts. It seems to take him a bit to find his rhythm. Hurts QB rating is over 100 in every quarter, except the 1st quarter where it is 83.4. In the 1st quarter, he is barely in the top 30. But his rating of 107.1 in the other 3 quarters is the 3rd best number in the league. He has taken a bit too much criticism this year because he has mostly been great. But his slow starts need to end. If they do, it will be hard to find much to complain about with him.

  It would sure be nice to see Hurts come out, and just lead the team down the field for a TD early in this game. Get out to a quick lead for once. He has been making up for it late in the game, but maybe take a page out of the Lions and beat up on a team all game long. They are 7th in the league in points per game despite being 30th in the league in 1st quarter points. Think of how good the offense will be if they play a full game.

  It has been fine so far, but eventually, it will bite them in the ass. As great as the defense has been, no team is perfect. Everyone eventually has an off day. They can’t keep relying on the defense to hold teams to such low points totals.

  That said, it is worth mentioning that 1 off the 2 teams that have actually been worse than them in the 1st quarter is the Rams. Even during this 4-1 stretch, the Rams have scored just 7 points over 5 games. So maybe they will have another week where they get let off the hook if they have a slow start. But at some point, they need to score points in the 1st.

  Dan Orlovsky on X (formerly Twitter): "Eagles scoring margin 1st quarter (-26, 26th in NFL) Quarters 2-4 (+106, 2nd in NFL) / X"

  Eagles scoring margin 1st quarter (-26, 26th in NFL) Quarters 2-4 (+106, 2nd in NFL)

• Darius Slay

  Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper Dejean have gotten plenty of well-deserved love this year. But Slay has gone under the radar a bit. The team itself has not let him go unnoticed though. Nick Sirianni focused on pumping up Slay to the rest of the team this week, and his teammates have sung his praises. Including Cooper DeJean who said this.

  Jeff Kerr on X (formerly Twitter): "Asked Cooper DeJean about what Darius Slay is doing at 33 (how well he's playing):"I don't think enough people are talking about him, how well he's playing, especially at 33. "I don't want to throw a shot at him (joking about his age), but he's playing at a high level, which... / X"

  Asked Cooper DeJean about what Darius Slay is doing at 33 (how well he's playing):"I don't think enough people are talking about him, how well he's playing, especially at 33. "I don't want to throw a shot at him (joking about his age), but he's playing at a high level, which...

  Slay has battled some injuries, but he has been just as much of a lockdown corner as the two young guys over this winning streak. It is tough to be an older CB in this league. WRs are too big an too strong for any corner to lose even a little bit of speed. But he is still playing at a very high level, holding opposing QBs to a QB Rating of just 54.9 when targeting him. He has drawn some of the same tough matchups we have given Mitchell credit for winning. He has also taken a key role in mentoring the two young guys. He has grown into a genuine leader on this team, taking the rookies under his wing the way we saw Fletcher Cox mentor Carter and Davis last year.

  With Nacua and Kupp coming up, they are going to need both Mitchell and Slay on their A-Game, as well as DeJean when either of those guys slides into the slot. The good thing is none of those 3 have given the Eagles any reason to worry about that.

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