Two teams that have recently advanced to Super Bowls meet tonight at SoFi Stadium when the Los Angeles Rams host the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams won Super Bowl LVI to complete the 2021 season and the following year the Eagles came up short against the Kansas City Chiefs in the final hurdle to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Since those Super Bowl appearances, both teams have gone through some tough times. Last year, while in a prime position for a top seed in defense of the NFC title, the Eagles stumbled down the final stretch, losing five of their final six regular season games, and getting eliminated in the first round of postseason play.
This year, the Rams were looking to plug the hole left by the retirement of one of the league’s best defensive players, Aaron Donald, and then got hit with a rash of injuries. The combination resulted in Los Angeles losing four of their first five games headed into their bye week. Since that break in their schedule, the Rams have returned a number of their walking wounded to the lineup and won four of five games.
The Eagles may be the best team in football.
While the buzz has been around the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens for that lofty assessment, the Eagles have a team experienced at winning, looking to make amends for last year’s collapse and the addition of Saquon Barkley to their potent attack led by quarterback Jalen Hurts.
If the Eagles have a weakness, we haven’t been able to locate it.
Early in the season, there were some reported distractions between the coach, fans and front office, but from the play on the field, none of those reported rifts have hurt the Eagles won/loss record. The Eagles eight wins in ten decisions has them three games up in the loss column over the second place Washington Commanders in the NFC East Division. Their record is also only one game off the Lions 10-1 mark in the hunt for the top seed in the playoffs.
The Rams, who are involved in the bottleneck that is the NFC West Division, every team is within a game of each other, are looking for a victory to stay even with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks and a game ahead for the, brace for this, last place San Francisco 49ers.
So, the Rams need this game to stay in the hunt for the top spot in their division, a group that is unlikely to produce a Wild Card entrant. The Eagles need this game to remain viable in the race for the NFC top seed. By that calculation alone, the Rams get a slight edge in need over want.
Is it enough to beat the Eagles in Los Angeles?
That is the question, and I don’t have the answer.