7 stats and facts to know for Rams vs. Eagles in Week 5
Through four weeks, there are only two teams that remain unbeaten: the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Los Angeles Rams already faced the 49ers in Week 2, and on Sunday afternoon, they’ll face the other undefeated squad, Philadelphia.
It’s another massive test for a young Rams team that has looked significantly better than expected, and taking down the Eagles at home would be a huge step in the right direction.
Here are seven key stats and facts to know for Sunday’s showdown at SoFi Stadium between these two NFC foes who haven’t met since 2020.
Rams and Eagles boast top-5 offenses
There are only three teams in the NFL with more yards than the Rams and Eagles this season: the Dolphins, 49ers and Chiefs. Los Angeles ranks fourth with 1,571 total yards, while the Eagles are close behind with 1,568 yards of offense.
All those yards haven’t always translated to points for the Rams, who are 13th in the league with 98 points scored, but the Eagles are scoring at a high clip, ranking fifth in points through four games with 118.
Eagles defense has struggled on third down
Though the Eagles have been great on third down offensively, converting 43.6% of the time, they’ve struggled to stop teams on third. They’re allowing a third-down conversion rate of 46.2% this season, which ranks 25th. That’s allowed opponents to sustain drives against them, even if Philadelphia is doing a decent job limiting points (16th in points allowed).
The Rams have to capitalize on Philadelphia’s third-down struggles, an area that Sean McVay’s squad has had success in. The Rams come into the week with the eighth-best third-down offense, converting 43.9% of the time.
Both teams in bottom-10 of red zone defense
Neither the Rams nor the Eagles has done a great job defensively when their opponents reach the red zone. The Rams have the seventh-worst red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns 70% of the time, and the Eagles are even worse than that; they’re 28th in red-zone defense, giving up touchdowns on 73.3% of opponents’ trips inside the 20.
Surprisingly, the Eagles have also been ineffective offensively when reaching the red zone, ranking 24th in touchdown percentage (46.2%). This is another area the Rams must take advantage of.
Eagles have most rushing attempts, Rams have most passing attempts in NFL
The Rams and Eagles offenses operate very differently. Both teams have run a ton of plays, with Los Angeles rankings first and the Eagles fourth, but the Rams skew more heavily toward the pass than the Eagles. Los Angeles has 166 pass attempts, which are the most in the NFL. The Eagles are 23rd in that category but have the most rush attempts of any team (140); Los Angeles is 16th in total rushes.
If the Eagles grab a lead in this one, we’ll probably see a heavy dose of D’Andre Swift, Jalen Hurts and Kenneth Gainwell, as well as a lot of throws by Matthew Stafford. But if the Rams can pull ahead and get the Eagles out of their ground-and-pound offense, it’ll work in their favor.
Rams are 1-2 vs. Eagles under Sean McVay
The Rams and Eagles have only squared off three times with McVay as the head coach in Los Angeles and each one was relatively high-scoring. The Rams won the most recent meeting, 37-19 in 2020, but the Eagles beat the Rams 30-23 in 2018 and 43-35 in 2017.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has yet to face the Rams in his current role in Philadelphia, so this will be a new test for him.
Matthew Stafford is 4-1 vs. Eagles 10 TDs and 1 INT
This will be Stafford’s first game against the Eagles since joining the Rams in 2021, but his track record against Philadelphia throughout his career is excellent. He went 4-1 against the Eagles as a member of the Lions, throwing 10 touchdown passes with just one interception.
He only completed 58% of his passes in those five games and averaged just 236 yards per game, but he limited the turnovers, which helped Detroit beat Philadelphia in their five contests.
Eagles are top 10 in run blocking and pass blocking
According to Pro Football Focus, the Eagles have the sixth-best pass-blocking unit in the NFL, giving them a grade of 70.8 in that area. The run blocking has been even better, grading Philadelphia as the top unit with a score of 80.6 – 3.2 better than the next-closest team, the Vikings (77.4).
Pressuring Hurts will be a challenge and slowing down Swift as the Eagles’ lead back is difficult, too, given the Eagles’ blockers up front. But those are two priorities for Los Angeles in Week 5.
