5 Things to Watch in Eagles-Rams

In the 2016 draft the Eagles and Rams had the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the draft, today those two quarterbacks face off for the first time as two of the up-and-coming teams in the NFL.

While both teams are led by their young QB's, both have very good defenses, which could turn out to be the biggest factor in winning the game today.

All eyes on Jared Goff. Critics last season were quick to call Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, a bust. But he has been excellence under new coach Sean McVey, throwing for 3,184 yards, 20 touchdowns and just six interceptions.

The key for the Eagles is to limit Goff and the Rams offense that has scored 361 points, tied with the Eagles for the most in the NFL this season.  He has plenty of weapons, but running back Todd Gurley is a headache to deal with in the screen game and could be a focal point of the Rams offense today.

Another thing will be how Goff handles the Eagles pass rush, the Eagles got to Russell Wilson last week, but could not get him down, will Goff be able to avoid the rush like Wilson did last week?

Can Rams Stop the Eagles Run? The Eagles rushing attack is one of the best in the league, they feature three different back, all who can do different things.  Seattle did a good job of slowing them down, but the Eagles got away from the run since they were playing from behind.

If the Rams have a weakness on defense, its stopping the run, they rank 26th in the league in stopping them run. They give up 4.7 yards a carry and 122 yards per game. If the Rams can't stop the run today, that should open up the passing game for passing Wentz which is featured with some favorable matchups for the Eagles wide receivers.

Getting better along the offensive line. The Eagles offensive line needs to play better this week against a very good Rams pass rush.  They're third in the NFL in quarterback sacks, so the challenge will large today for the Eagles offensive line. The loss of Jason Peters is starting to be felt more and more, and Stefen Wisnewski's play at left guard as slipped a bit

The Rams 3-4 defense has three very good players across the front with Aaron Donald, who just might be the best defensive lineman in the league, along with Robert Quinn and Michael Brockers. Quinn is coming on as of late, over his last three games, he has three sacks. Meanwhile Brockers, is coming off an outstanding game, recording three total pressures.

No Ertz, No Prblem?  While tight end Zach Ertz numbers are incredible, the Eagles are in pretty good hands with the reserve duo of Trey Burton and Brent Celek.

Without Ertz, during their Week 9 game against the Broncos, Burton was able to find the end zone in the win, and last week in Ertz's absence Nelson Agholor, exploaded for a career-best 141 yards, so even without the very talented Ertz, the Eagles have options.

Gurley is Good. The Eagles run defense struggled a little big last week with Seahawks running back Mike Davis, rushing for 64 yards on 16 carries last week against the Eagles.

But they also were able to exploit the Eagles linebackers, in the pass game, and one things the Rams like to do is get the ball to Gurley in the screen game.  The key for the Eagles will be being able to bring Gurley down in the open-field.

The Eagles have been an outstanding tackling team this season, but didn't tackle very well last week in Seattle, if they don't tackle Gurley well this week - it could be a long day.

The Pick: Eagles 27, Rams 24