The Los Angeles Rams demolished Minnesota last night 27-9 in Arizona, due to the fires in Los Angeles. It was clear the Rams were riding an emotional high, they were wearing Los Angeles Fire Department shirts under their jerseys and many fans in attendance were festooned with fireman helmets.
In the emotional win, the Rams sacked Minnesota Quarterback Sam Darnold nine times. Minnesota had an early exit from the playoffs despite a 14-3 regular season record. The Rams must now travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles (where they are already 6-point underdogs) but, they may ride emotion to a road win. Do you think that emotion can carry the Rams to victory over the Eagles?
Rams Defeat Vikings 27-9
The Los Angeles Rams rode a wave of emotion to upset the Minnesota Vikings in Arizona. Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford played great, completing 19-of-27 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The Rams onslaught included nine sacks of a bewildered Darold. They were leading 24-3 at halftime in a game that was never really in doubt.
The Rams jumped to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. The Rams now face the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia and bettors should not overlook them. The performance by Darnold may have cost the free agent millions of dollars.
LA’s Keys To Victory At Eagles
For Los Angeles to win at Philadelphia, where they are almost a touchdown underdog, they need to continue to feed on the emotion that led them to blast Minnesota. If that happens, they can go to Philadelphia and win this game. It would be helpful for Los Angeles if they got great quarterback play, as they did in the Wild Card round, and they absolutely cannot hurt themselves with turnovers and penalties.
Rams’ Important Players Against Eagles
The devastation from the horrific fires in Los Angeles should still be fresh, and even if the fires were extinguished on January 14, we would still be learning their true toll by this game on January 19. It is necessary on the football field for Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford to play as well as he did in the Wild Card round. It is also necessary for Los Angeles to keep the explosive Eagles offense off the field, so running back Kyren Williams is important.
Los Angeles must also contain the Philadelphia offense when it is on the field, so the entire Los Angeles defense is important. Finally, as a road underdog, it is important for Los Angeles not to hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers. Therefore, in a sense, the entire Los Angeles roster is important.
Philadelphia’s Keys To Victory
In their meeting with Los Angeles in Week 12 the Eagles won 37-20 and their keys to success are contained in that game. The Eagles got a strong and diversified attack from their backfield. The quarterback play was solid and Wide Receiver A.J. Brown had 109 yards receiving. Plus, the defense played well and the Rams did not look like a Super Bowl contender.
Eagles Important Players Against Rams
For the Philadelphia Eagles to be successful, MVP candidate Saquon Barkley needs to have another strong game. Barkley had more than 300 yards from scrimmage in the team’s first meeting with the Rams. Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts needs to have a good game and convert short-yardage plays for first downs with the “Brotherly Shove.” Brown needs to have another big game.
Conclusion
Although on paper Philadelphia is the better team, and the current betting line reflects this, Los Angeles could go into Philadelphia and win this game. To do so they need to continue to ride the emotional high they were on and it is necessary for their quarterback to play as efficiently as he did in the Wild Card round. The defense should play as well as they did against the Vikings. If Los Angeles does these things they could win.
