The Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams meet on “Sunday Night Football” on the road to the NFL playoffs.
The Eagles stand on the top step of the NFC East, which has turned into a two-horse race as the calendar turned to November. While much ado has been made about the addition of Saquon Barkley, it’s been the Eagles defense — featuring standout rookie Quinyon Mitchell — that has hit its stride.
Philly’s D has been stout: Entering Week 12, they rank first in the NFL in yards allowed and sixth in points allowed as a unit. That’s a testament to new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who has transformed the defense into one of the NFC’s most formidable.
The Rams have undergone a turnaround of their own. After starting 1-4, Los Angeles has flipped their record and has gone 4-1 since their Week 6 bye.
The Rams, though, still have some work to do in the sluggish but competitive NFC West. Entering Week 12 a game behind the surprising Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles is searching for its first division title since 2021. They’re in prime position to make a run, and Sunday night offers an opportunity to keep their recent hot play going.
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It’s a battle of playoff potentials on “SNF.” USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the Eagles-Rams matchup below. All times are Eastern.
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The Eagles started the second half with a bang. Saquon Barkley found a hole on the right side of the offensive line and burst through the middle of it untouched. That turned the game quickly, as the Rams are now trailing by 13 points.
The 70-yard scoring scamper represents the second longest rushing touchdown of Barkley’s NFL career. Barkley is now up to 143 yards on 14 carries, good for a 10.2 yards per carry average.
Brandon Graham moved up to No. 3 all-time on the Eagles’ all-time sack leaders list with his first-half sack against Matthew Stafford. Below is a look at the top-five sack men in franchise history:
No other players in Eagles franchise history have more than 57.5 total sacks to their names.
Below is a look at the Eagles’ statistical leaders at halftime of their Week 12 game against the Rams:
Below is a look at the Rams’ statistical leaders at halftime of their Week 12 game against the Eagles:
The Eagles inexplicably tried to run the ball on a fourth-and-11 with seven seconds left in the first half and failed to convert. That gave Matthew Stafford a chance to take a shot at the end-zone with just two seconds left in the half.
The issue? Stafford didn’t have the time needed to get a pass off. Josh Sweat got pressure on him quickly and brought him down before Stafford could escape. That allowed the Eagles to take a 13-7 lead into the second half, where Philadelphia will get the ball first.
The Eagles’ pass rush is starting to become an issue for the Rams. Nakobe Dean came on a blitz and de-cleated Kyren Williams before wrapping up Matthew Stafford for a loss of eight yards.
The Rams waved the white flag on the drive following that sack, running the ball and punting it back to the Eagles, who will have 26 seconds left to try to get into scoring range.
The Eagles finally scored their first touchdown on their third red-zone drive of the day. Jalen Hurts found A.J. Brown open breaking toward the left side of the end zone, and the veteran wide out managed to catch the pass, get two feet down and take a step before defensive back Quentin Lake punched it out of his hands.
The play was initially called an incomplete pass but replay review ruled that Brown had completed the process of the catch. That, plus an extra point, gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 13-7, with 1:27 left in the first half.
Brandon Graham, a 36-year-old veteran who has spent his entire 15-year career with the Eagles, continues to make plays in the 206th game of his career. He brings down Matthew Stafford to bring his career sack total to 77.5 and forces the Rams to punt.
Graham put a solid hit on Stafford and avoided a body-weight penalty while sending the quarterback to the ground.
The Eagles once again stalled in the red zone and were whistled for three penalties on their final set of downs before settling for a field goal. Jake Elliott once again made the kick and cut the Rams’ lead to one with 6:17 left in the first half.
Saquon Barkley took a hard shot on a 3-yard run early in Philadelphia’s second drive of the second quarter. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, but his status will be worth monitoring. He was replaced in the contest by Kenneth Gainwell.
Barkley returned to the contest seven plays later.
Puka Nacua nearly made a spectacular catch on second-and-4 for the Rams, but he couldn’t reel in a one-handed grab going to the ground. Matthew Stafford threw consecutive incompletions to end the drive, and Los Angeles kicked the ball back to Philadelphia.
The Eagles will start their next drive with good field position on their own 36-yard line.
The Eagles couldn’t follow up their first-drive success with a quality second drive. Jalen Hurts was chased down by Rams rookie second-round pick Braden Fiske, who brought him down for a loss of 12 yards on third-and-6.
Los Angeles brought the return back to their own 21-yard line, where the Rams will look to continue their offensive success from the first couple of drives.
Los Angeles is defending its home field well through one quarter. The Rams racked up 117 yards of offense in the first half and reached the red zone on each of their two drives. They are averaging 8.4 yards per play compared to 6.7 for the Eagles in what is shaping up to be an offensive battle.
Jalen Hurts (5-of-5, 47 yards) has yet to throw an incompletion while Matthew Stafford is 5-of-7 for 56 yards through the air and ran for 15 yards on a scramble. Entering the game, Stafford had negative rushing yards for the season on 10 attempts.
Kyren Williams atones for his first drive fumble, taking a 1-yard carry into the end zone to give the Rams their first score of the day. It marks Williams’ first rushing touchdown since Los Angeles’ Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Williams now has 45 yards and a score on six carries in the first quarter. He’s on pace for just his second 100-yard rushing game of the season.
Yes, the Chargers and Rams both call SoFi Stadium home. Rams owner Stan Kroenke built the stadium as part of the Rams’ move to Los Angeles in 2016 and has rented it to the Chargers since 2017.
It is one of two NFL stadiums that is home to two teams — MetLife Stadium, home of Giants and Jets — is the other.
Like the Rams, the Eagles weren’t able to find success in the red-zone after a quality opening drive. They settled for a 21-yard field goal that Jake Elliott made with ease to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead.
Jalen Hurts went 4-of-4 passing for 43 yards on the opening drive while adding 11 yards on two carries. Saquon Barkley accounted for most of the rest of the offense, racking up 26 yards on five carries.
The Eagles gave long-time Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley a shout out during their first drive against the Rams. As Jalen Hurts came to the line, he yelled Stanley’s name a couple of times, presumably to communicate a call to his offensive line.
The Rams had a nice first drive brewing, but Kyren Williams coughed up the ball on Los Angeles’ first red-zone play of the game. The Eagles jumped on it quickly to create the turnover.
Initially, the officials ruled that Williams was down by contact before the fumble. Nick Sirianni challenged the play — though the officials almost missed that he had thrown the red flag before the Rams quickly ran another play — and the call was overturned.
“Heaven Can Wait” is a 1978 sports fantasy movie about Joe Pendleton, a backup for the Los Angeles Rams, being mistakenly taken to Heaven by an inexperienced guardian angel who presumed he was meant to die in an accident. After the mistake is realized, Pendleton is transferred into a new body on Earth, that of multi-millionaire Leo Farnsworth. The story then follows Pendleton/Farnsworth’s efforts trying to get the Rams a Super Bowl, with him as a quarterback.
The movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards and was evidently a favorite of actor Rob Lowe. He cited it for inspiring his love of the Rams in a monologue during NBC’s “Football Night In America” pregame show.
The Rams and Eagles game will wrap up Sunday’s action for Week 12 of the 2024 NFL season with “Sunday Night Football” at 8:20 p.m. ET.
NBC will broadcast the Rams vs. Eagles Week 12 clash. Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties during the game, with Cris Collinsworth providing color commentary and Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines during Rams vs. Eagles.
NBC’s weekly “Football Night in America” pregame show will begin at 7 p.m. ET and feature insight from a panel of analysts, including Maria Taylor, Jason Garrett, Chris Simms, Mike Florio, Devin McCourty, Tony Dungy, and more.
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo TV. Fubo TV carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
Peacock, the proprietary streaming service of NBC, will also carry the game.
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the “SNF” matchup between LA and Philadelphia will turn out:
The Eagles are favorites to defeat the Rams, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024 including the ESPN BET app and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.
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The Rams vs. Eagles game is being played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. SoFi Stadium is also home to the Los Angeles Chargers, who will host the Baltimore Ravens this week on “Monday Night Football.”
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SoFi Stadium has a roof, but it is an open-air stadium on the sides, meaning the weather could have a minor effect on Sunday night’s game.
It is expected to be 51 degrees during Sunday night’s game, per Weather.com. There is an 8% chance of rain, 4 mph of wind and it is expected to be cloudy and eventually foggy during the evening. Overall, the weather shouldn’t have a significant impact on the playing conditions, save for it being a bit chillier than usual on the field.
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Eagles have odds of -10000 to make the playoffs entering Week 12. That gives Philadelphia an implied probability of 99.01% to qualify for the postseason.
BetMGM Sportsbook has set the Rams’ odds to make the playoffs at +310. The sportsbook also offers odds for Los Angeles to miss the playoffs at -400.
BetMGM’s odds imply a 24.4% chance of making the postseason.
Philadelphia’s seven remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .486, per Tankathon. That gives the Eagles the 16th-toughest remaining schedule among the NFL’s 32 teams.
The Eagles have three games remaining against teams with three wins or fewer, so it’s easy to understand why NFL oddsmakers favor Philadelphia to make the postseason.
Below is a full look at the Eagles’ schedule:
With seven games left to play, Los Angeles has the 11th-hardest schedule remaining, according to Tankathon. Their upcoming opponents have a combined record of 39-29, good for a .542 win percentage.
In addition to three divisional games remaining against each NFC West team, the Rams will have to face a couple of tough opponents in the next three weeks. Los Angeles has to face two teams contending for the top seed in their respective conferences: the Eagles and the Bills. Once the Rams get through that, three of their final four games are against divisional opponents.
Here’s who the Rams will face over the final seven weeks:
If you’re looking for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year favorites, then Sunday night’s Rams-Eagles matchup is for you:
1. Jared Verse, DE, Los Angeles Rams (-190)
With his mix of pedigree and production, Verse is likely to be the favorite for the rest of the regular season.
2. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles (+320)
Mitchell doesn’t have the same production as other defensive backs but Philadelphia’s getting the attention needed to move him up the order.
3. Laiatu Latu, DE, Indianapolis Colts (+2000)
Latu’s pedigree has him third behind Verse and Mitchell but he’s pretty far out of it, barring a second-half surge in production this season.
View more rankings here.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
Pittsburgh and Dallas have the unique distinction of playing each other more than any other team combination in Super Bowl history with three matchups.
The Rams have played in five Super Bowls — winning two, most recently Super Bowl 56 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Eagles have played in four Super Bowls — winning one against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
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