Instant Obvervations From Eagles Collapse To Rams: What Were They Doing?!

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles will jet across the Atlantic Ocean later this week, dragging a heavy anchor into their Week 5 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. That anchor is a two-game losing streak, following a 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Eagles, now 2-2, led 20-10 when Jalen Hurts threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 7:26 to play.

The Rams kicked it into high gear from there. Their offense ripped off a 98-yard drive that needed just nine plays and used 3:27 of clock. Their defense then forced a three-and-out from the Eagles’ offense – nothing new about that – to get the ball back with 2:55 left. The offense then went 79 on 10 plays in just 1:45 to win the game and get back to .500 at 2-2.

The win was Sean McVay’s first against Nick Sirianni. He is now 1-4 against the Eagles’ head coach.

The Eagles made a questionable call to go for it on fourth-and-goal midway through the fourth quarter to go up six. Perhaps had they kicked a chip shot field goal, they would have only needed a field goal when they got the ball back with 65 seconds.

Not that it mattered. Hurts was sacked twice on their last possession, and Philly couldn’t get a first down. The Eagles were 0-12 on third down and had just 12 first downs. Hurts threw for just 93 yards, and the Eagles had just 172 total yards.

This was a game the Eagles weren’t supposed to win. They had an injury list as long as an arm coming in, then added to it when running back Saquon Barkley went out early with a hamstring injury in the first quarter, and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was lost with a knee injury and outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard went out with an ankle injury, both in the third quarter.

Even oddsmakers installed them as three-point underdogs. In their own home.

So, it was a loss not entirely unexpected. Except they played well enough to steal it.

The Eagles entered the game without receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and linebacker Zack Baun (concussion). Smith will reportedly miss another game or two.

Tight end Dallas Goedert and safety Marcus Epps also missed the game with injuires.

The Eagles were stung when Lane Johnson couldn’t play due to a personal matter. With Fred Johnson already ruled out with an injury, the Eagles had to start Markel Bell and hope both he and Jordan Mailata made it through the game healthy because they had only seven linemen active. They did.

The Eagles only had 47 players active for the game. The league allows 48 players to dress, but Philly called up two tight ends on Saturday, not knowing Johnson would not play.

Despite the loss, the Eagles did some decent things.

Oct 4, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) throws a pass against Los Angeles Rams safety Kam Curl (3) and linebacker Byron Young (0) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Six Thoughts On Eagles' Second Straight Loss

TURNOVERS

The Eagles finally got their first two of the season and scored 10 points off them. They were interceptions by Drew Mukuba and Cooper DeJean. Mukuba's first-quarter pick led to a 56-yard field goal from Jake Elliott, the first points the Eagles scored in the first quarter all year. DeJean’s pick came late in the first half and led to a 10-yard touchdown catch from Darius Cooper, giving the Eagles a 20-10 lead at the break.

BEAUTY OF COOPER

Darius Cooper’s 10-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone with three seconds left in the first half was reminiscent of his 3-yard TD catch with nine seconds left in the game against the Titans in a Week 2 win. Cooper also had a nifty TD catch when he seemed to rip the ball away from Rams defender Quentin Lake in the end zone from 18 yards out. He now leads the team in touchdown catches with three, passing injured Dallas Goedert, who has two.

SACK

Yes, the Eagles got one, and they now have four. Nolan Smith got home and has two of those this season. He would have had another one, but it was erased by a holding penalty against Quinyon Mitchell. Smith played a strong game from his edge post, logging several pressures.

LINEBACKERS

Without Zack Baun, Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., made just the second start of his career, which is in its third year. Trotter made 15 tackles. Jihaad Campbell stepped up in Baun’s absence, too. He helped break up a pass on fourth-and-8 early in the fourth quarter to get the Eagles the ball back on downs. Campbell had nine tackles. He was picked on in the pass game, though. Credit McVay for exploiting matchup involving the second-year linebacker.

THIRD DOWNS AND THIRD QUARTERS

The Eagles were 0-for-9 on that down through three quarters. And speaking of the third quarter, the Eagles' struggles continued. They went three-and-out twice and four-and-out once. They have now gone three-and-out nine times in 11 third-quarter possessions this season. The result was the Eagles were shut out of the scoring column in the second half on Sunday.

ROOKIE DEBUT

Markel Bell did some good and bad, about what you’d expect after not learning that he would start until Sunday morning when Johnson could not play due to personal reasons.

Bell made some blocks that stood out, but there was also one play when he didn’t block anybody, and Hurts ended up getting sacked. The thinking is that the third-round draft pick is only going to get better, especially if he can prepare during the week as the starter. Hurts was sacked four times overall.

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