Two of the NFL's top offenses go head-to-head on 'Sunday Night Football' as the Los Angeles Rams host the Philadelphia Eagles.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams, at 5-5, sit one game back of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West and badly need a win in Week 11 to remain in the playoff hunt. Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia, meanwhile, are in great shape atop the NFC East at 8-2.
Who will come out on top of this pivotal matchup? Stay with NBC News all night for the latest from SoFi Stadium.
Record in sight
Rams coach Sean McVay can become the franchise’s all-time leader in regular-season victories as a coach with a win tonight. He would surpass John Robinson, who also won 75 games, but in 143 games. By contrast, tonight is McVay’s 126th career regular-season game as a head coach.
Hurts to win
Much has been said about Jalen Hurts as a runner, though it’s worth repeating. If he rushes for a touchdown tonight, he would have done so in six consecutive games, making him only the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to do that. He’s already the only QB in NFL history with 10-plus rushing touchdowns in four different seasons. But let’s talk about his passing during the Eagles’ six-game winning streak.
Hurts has completed 70.2% of his passes in that span, third-best in the NFL behind only Jared Goff (a potential MVP) and Lamar Jackson (a two-time MVP). And he has only two turnovers in his last six games, as well. The bottom line in his last six games: 17 total touchdowns for Hurts and just two turnovers.
LA goes as Stafford goes
Matthew Stafford isn’t perfect. As recently as Week 10 of this season, he had thrown an interception in six consecutive games, which tied for the longest such streak of his 16-year career. The upshot is that when Stafford is at his best with his receivers, Los Angeles is tough to beat. In fact, 3-0 when he has thrown multiple touchdown passes.
Key matchup for MNF
With their ground game struggling, the Rams have to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford to have any chance of winning. And they’ve done that: Coming off a win in New England where they allowed zero sacks, the Rams have allowed only 21 sacks and 117 pressures, both of which are top-10 marks.
But those linemen will, quite literally, have their hands full against an Eagles defense whose 28 sacks rank ninth-best in the league. Linebacker Josh Sweat leads with six sacks, but watch Jalen Carter (3.5 sacks) in particular tonight.
Opposites on the ground
Philadelphia has run all over its opponents this season, averaging a league-high 181.3 yards on the ground between Saquon Barkley, who leads the league in scrimmage yards, and quarterback Jalen Hurts. If Philadelphia rushes for at least 150 yards and multiple rushing touchdowns tonight, it will become only the second team in NFL history to do that for six consecutive games – joining the Eagles from 1949, according to NBC research.
The Rams? Well, they have mostly run into trouble on the ground, averaging 95.4 yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush, the league’s third-worst average. It’s not for lack of trying; Kyren Williams, the Rams’ lead back, is rushing 19.1 attempts per game, fourth-most among backs in the league. Yet he hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown in the last five games. It would be an upset if the Rams had a breakthrough against the Eagles and their seventh-ranked rushing defense.
Mediocre starts, monster finishes
Through the season’s first month, neither the Eagles nor the Rams were ready for prime time.
Philadelphia started 2-2, sparking hot-seat pressure on coach Nick Sirianni. Los Angeles, meanwhile, was just 1-4 as recently as Oct. 19, after their bye week – their worst start to a season since 2014. For all the consternation those poor starts created, both teams have since authored two of the biggest turnarounds in the entire league, with Philadelphia riding a six-game winning streak that is the NFL’s second-longest active streak.
Since that streak began in Week 6, the Eagles own the NFL’s best scoring defense, allowing just 13.8 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Rams have won four of their last five games. Much of credit goes to the play-calling – and the returns to the lineup of receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp – that has unlocked Matthew Stafford, who has thrown 10 touchdowns in his last four games against three turnovers. Contrast that with his production from his first six games: three touchdowns and six turnovers.
Great in the regular season
Since Nick Sirianni’s first season in 2021, the Eagles have won 42 games in the regular season, the most in the NFC. It’s a remarkable run on its face, including the fact that should the Eagles make the postseason as expected, it would be the first time since 2000-04, under Andy Reid, that the franchise had made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. Yet for the Eagles’ fan base, what matters is what happens in the playoffs.
Sirianni is 2-3, and after last season’s collapse to end the year, there remains significant pressure to ensure this season’s winning streak translates to the playoffs.