The Los Angeles Rams play a second straight week against an opponent they played in the regular season. McVay and the Rams got a second look at the Minnesota Vikings in an NFL Wild Card game after having faced the NFC North runner-ups in Week 8.
On the strength of their defense, McVay and the Rams took care of the Vikings, beating Minnesota 27-9 to advance to the divisional playoff game. Their opponent: the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that beat the Rams 37-20 in Week 12 at SoFi Stadium.
While Minnesota had a superb season, the Eagles, the NFC East champions, are on a different level. It was just a couple of years ago that Jalen Hurts and the Eagles were giving Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs a run for their money in Super Bowl LVII.

After a down season last year, Hurts and the Eagles have returned as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Rams will have to play the Eagles on the road with Philadelphia playing in front of their home fans.
The Rams were able to limit Minnesota’s one-legged offense with a pocket passer in Sam Darnold and a journeyman backfield. The Eagles, represented by one of the NFL’s top dual-threat quarterbacks in Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley, are a different beast.
McVay acknowledged this in a Zoom press conference.
“They’re real. Obviously, we have a familiarity,” McVay said. “I got a little bit of a jump on them this morning. This defense is outstanding. Their offense… we know how tough they are to defend in terms of the different things that they can present in the run game and how good they are offensive line-wise. They have great skill. Obviously, Saquon is probably going to win Offensive Player of the Year. We have a ton of respect for Jalen Hurts.”
In that Week 12 matchup, the Eagles scored 34 points in the last three quarters. Barkley ran out of his mind, gaining 255 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams recorded nine sacks of Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold in beating the Vikings for the second time this season.
To beat Philadelphia, McVay’s defense will have to rise to the occasion. Again. During that first encounter where Barkley busted loose, the Eagles did some things right on the offensive line. And there were moments when the Rams defense was not in the right spots.

“I think first and foremost, you have to give them credit,” McVay remarked. “They did an excellent job and then there were some things where we certainly could have put our guys in some better spots. There were some things where we misfit some runs. The last one that he broke out, we were in a zero blitz and he broke through the line of scrimmage and there’s no one left and he has the speed to finish. That’s the thing that makes Saquon so special.”
After the loss to Philadelphia, the Rams won five straight games and captured the NFC West title.
“I think when you have humbling experiences with the right kinds of people, those are where the real growth ‘ops’ exist. I think we had a lot of guys that really, as a team, you can look inward and you can say, ‘Is this really what we want to be about? Where are the things that we can adjust and adapt from a coaching perspective?”
Lead photo image: Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay paces the sidelines during a game his team played against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. The Seahawks defeated the Rams 30-25 on Jan. 5, 2025, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline

Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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