Eagles-Rams matchups to watch in Week 3

Eagles-Rams matchups to watch in Week 3 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles (2-0) will host the Rams (2-0) on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.

This is a rematch of a tight divisional round matchup from a year ago.

Here are some key matchups to watch in Week 3:

Saquon Barkley vs. Rams run defense

In two games against the Rams last season, Barkley ran wild. In Week 12 and the divisional round combined, Barkley had 52 rushing attempts for 460 yards and 4 touchdowns. Barkley's three longest runs of the 2024 season came against the Rams. In the Week 12 games, Barkley had touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards and then in the fourth quarter of that playoff game, he had that 78-yard touchdown through the snow.

Barkley has yet to break a big one so far this season. His longest run through two games is a 16-yarder. Against the Cowboys and Chiefs, it has been tough sledding for Barkley. He had 148 yards on 40 carries for an average of just 3.7 yards per carry.

We haven't had the glitzy glamor hundred-yard, whatever, the big pop runs that we've had," offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo said this week, but if you look at the efficiency and what we asked him to do, especially to close the game out, run it out of backed up and have some crucial runs in times. We had that one drive where we got in a nice flow when he was running the ball good, we hit the screen and then we were able to score. I think we're moving in the right direction."

Through their first two games, the Rams have been a middle-of-the-pack run defense. They have given up 223 yards on 53 carries for an average of 4.2 yards per pop. They rank 17th in the NFL in run defense in 2025 after two games; they were 22nd in the league in 2024.

Eagles OL vs. talented Rams D-line

The Eagles' offensive line got through Week 2 against the Chiefs healthy. That includes Landon Dickerson (back), who had a tough matchup against Chris Jones in Kanas City. The Rams don't boast a future Hall of Famer like Jones anymore but this is a deep, talented and young defensive line.

The Rams have a ton of talent on that D-line with Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Puna Ford, Tyler Davis and Josaiah Stewart. It's one of the deeper defensive lines in the NFL. Through two weeks, Byron Young leads that group in sacks with 3, which ties him for second in the NFL. As a team, the Rams are tied for second in the NFL with eight sacks through two weeks. Turner and Verse each have seven pressures so far.

This is a fun matchup between the respective strengths of these two teams. The Eagles' OL is one of the best in the NFL. One of the fun individual matchups will be Jordan Mailata vs. Verse, who became a bit of a villain in Philly last year after he mentioned his dislike for Eagles fans. Even though Verse seems to find Eagles fans annoying, there's clear he has respect for them.

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith vs. Rams corners

There's a chance the Eagles are able to run the ball really well against the Rams like they did in their two matchups against them last season. But if they can't, the Eagles will have some nice matchups against the Rams' cornerbacks as long as protection holds up.

There's been some angst about the Eagles' passing attack through two games and that's understandable. While the passing attack has been efficient, it has not been explosive. The Eagles have just two explosive (16+ yard) passes through two games. When you have A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on your roster, that's just not good enough.

The Rams will be down one starting cornerback in this game after putting Ahkello Witherspoon on IR this week. That means the starters against the Eagles will be Emmanuel Forbes, Cobie Durant and Darious Williams on the outside and Quentin Lake in the slot. Forbes led the Rams outside corners in snaps in Week 2. You will remember Forbes as the undersized former Commanders first-round pick, who nearly had his career ended by Brown back in his rookie year of 2023. In Week 4 of his rookie season, Forbes was smoked by Brown for 6 catches, 147 yards and 2 touchdowns, per PFF. And last year when he faced Williams in Week 12, Brown had 4 for 86 against him.

Eagles CBs vs. Davante Adams, Puka Nacua

The Eagles' secondary will have a good test this week against one of the better pairs of receivers in the NFL. Through two games, Nacua is fourth in the NFL in recovering and Adams is 13th. Nacua has 20 catches for 221 yards and Adams has 21 for 157 and a touchdown. The Eagles as a team have 238 passing yards and Nacua almost has that many by himself through a couple weeks.

This is obviously a concern in this game. While the Eagles are confident in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, we don't really know what the Eagles are going to get from Adoree' Jackson. The nine-year veteran had a rough start in Week 1 against CeeDee Lamb but rebounded in Week 2 against lesser competition in Kansas City.

I thought it was improved," DC Vic Fangio said of Jackson's performance. I thought he did some good things and hopefully that will kickstart him into being a good corner for us."

Not only do the Rams have good receivers, but they have a quarterback who can get them the football. Matthew Stafford is 37 now but is playing at a high level again. Fangio called Stafford one of the most gifted passers you'll ever see."

Eagles DTs vs. Rams iOL

While Jalen Carter needs to keep getting into better shape, he was still very good in his season debut in Week 2 with a couple tackles and three quarterback hits. With Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo, the Eagles interior defensive line is looking strong this season even after losing Milton Williams in free agency. Ojomo on Sunday got his first regular season sack and Davis through two games already has 11 tackles and 3 batted passes.

There's a chance the Rams will be without starting left guard Steve Avila, who missed their Week 2 game after suffering an ankle injury in the opener. If Avila can't go, Justin Dedich would fill in.

The Rams allowed 10 pressures in their Week 2 game and 6 of them came against the guards and center. The Rams will probably slide protection Carter's way, which will leave 1-on-1s for Ojomo and Davis against Kevin Dotson or whoever plays left guard in this game.

Vic Fangio vs. Sean McVay

The Rams last season finished 10th in the NFL, averaging 227.5 passing yards per game. They had 198 against the Eagles in Week 12 and 291 in the divisional round.

Historically, Fangio has had a lot of success against McVay's offense and the offenses that have grown from his coaching tree. This dates back years to a 2019 ESPN article where McVay, Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur all independently said Fangio's defense was the toughest to read and attack.

But that respect goes both ways.

Yeah, they have a great offense," Fangio said this week. Their scheme is really good and tough to prepare for, and tough to play. They got a great quarterback operating it. They now have two great receivers. Sean does a great job calling the game. He's a really good play caller throughout the course of a game. It's an extremely difficult assignment."

The staple of McVay's offense is the use of motion. McVay uses motions and multiple motions at a higher rate than any other coach in the NFL. The Eagles have to be disciplined with their eyes and not let all that motion confuse them. Communication in the middle of the field is key.