Why Rams fans should be rooting for the Eagles this weekend
Andrew Ortenberg
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
While the Los Angeles Rams aren’t playing on wild-card weekend, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a rooting interest. The Rams will surely be busy getting ready to host their divisional-round game, but they also might have one eye on the TV watching the outcome of the Eagles-Bears game. Rams fans should 100 percent be rooting for Nick Foles pull out another miracle on Sunday.
The goal of the playoffs is to survive and advance, and the Rams really need to win a playoff game this year after going one and done last season. The franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2004 season, and no matter what you think of the Rams’ chances to win a rematch against Chicago, they’re better off facing either the Seahawks or Cowboys.
If the Bears win on Sunday, they’ll be playing the Rams next Saturday. But if the Eagles win, then the Rams will play the winner of the Seattle-Dallas game. For several reasons, either of those teams would provide an infinitely easier matchup.
The Rams have shown they can win any game in which their passing attack has success, most notably in the 54-51 shootout victory over the Chiefs, and that the only way to beat them is to slow down Jared Goff.
Dallas’ defense has received a ton of hype for the strides they’ve made recently, but its secondary still has some question marks. The Seahawks are 18th in the league in yards per attempt allowed with 7.5, while the Cowboys are only slightly better at 7.4. The Bears lead the league with 6.3 while having what might be the best pass rush in the league, and Goff has struggled mightily this year when under consistent pressure.
The Rams have already beaten the Seahawks twice this year, and should be able to easily handle the Cowboys, as well. While players on the team would likely profess that they’d love a chance to redeem themselves in a rematch, the Bears held the Rams to just six points and Goff looked like a deer in headlights most of the game. Granted the game would be in Los Angeles this time around and not the cold Chicago weather, but any Rams fan saying they’d rather play the Bears next week is lying to themselves.
If the Eagles win, they’ll be heavy underdogs next week against the Saints, which means New Orleans would be the most likely NFC Championship game opponent for the Rams. While the Rams narrowly lost their game in New Orleans earlier this year, they showed they can have plenty of success offensively. They scored 35 points against the Saints and Goff threw for 391 yards and three touchdowns, so you have to like their chances playing there again.
The bottom line:
The Bears pose the biggest threat in the conference to a Rams run to the Super Bowl, and seeing them get knocked out would be almost as important as if the Rams were playing this week. For just one week, Rams fans should all be Philadelphia fans.
