The Rams' defense couldn't contain running back Saquon Barkley in their primetime matchup with Philadelphia, as he totaled 302 total yards and two scores. Both of Barkley's touchdowns went for 70-plus yards, leading the Eagles to a 37-20 victory at SoFi Stadium.
Offensively, quarterback Matthew Stafford had a solid day, but it wasn't enough to keep up with the Eagles' explosives. Meanwhile, the Rams' rookie pass rush duo of Braden Fiske and Jared Verse continued to show promise against a stout Eagles offensive line.
Here are five interesting stats from the Rams' Week 12 loss to the Eagles:
Fiske was an average of 3.32 yards from the quarterback at the sack/throw point, which was tied for the second-best of Week 12 (league average is 4.57 yards via Next Gen Stats)
Once again, Fiske lived in the backfield on Sunday Night Football. Fiske finished the game with a sack, four pressures, three hurries and three defensive stops, according to Pro Football Focus. Fiske now leads all rookies with six sacks on the season, and is tied for the team lead with outside linebacker Byron Young.
Fiske was the most productive pass rusher on the Rams' front on Sunday night, and he did that while playing just 32 of the team's 72 defensive snaps. His blend of power and quickness was on full display against one of the best offensive lines in football.
Stafford was pressured on 28.6% of dropbacks, the least since Week 8, via NGS
After the game, Stafford said the Eagles rushed four most of the night, and NGS had the Eagles blitzing just 16.7% of the time. Still, Philadelphia fell short of their season average pressure rate of 30.9%, and the Rams' veteran offensive lineman Rob Havenstein was out, so the Rams' offensive line held up decently all things considered.
Stafford went 11-for-14 for 159 yards and a touchdown with a 137.8 passer rating over the middle of the field, via PFF
Despite the loss, Stafford played very well, finishing with 243 yards and two scores while completing 66.7% of his passes. Most of Stafford's yards – 65.4%, to be exact – came over the middle of the field. He peppered the ball to receivers running digs and comebacks between zones or into tight windows in man coverage.
Puka Nacua had 43 of those receiving yards over the middle, while Cooper Kupp added 42 and a touchdown. Overall, those two accounted for 72.8% of Stafford's passing yards.
Verse's bull rush that put Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata on his back was the only pressure he's allowed in the last three games, via PFF
Mailata is listed at 6-foot-8, 365 lbs. Verse is 6-foot-4, 260 lbs, and he put Mailata on his back with one violent bull rush.
This was Verse's only pressure of the game, so it was far from his best performance, but Mailata and Lane Johnson are arguably the best tackle duo in football. Still, Verse managed seven tackles, four of which were solo, along with five stops according to NGS.
Rams offensive guard Kevin Dotson registered his best PFF pass-blocking grade of the season (89.8)
Dotson had his second-highest offensive grade (88.0) and third-highest run blocking grade of the season (83.1). The fifth-year pro and second-year Ram has been the only member of the Rams' offensive line to play in every game this season, and he's improved continuously throughout the year.
Over the past four weeks, Dotson's had three games with an offensive PFF grade over 86.0. He's been a consistent presence in both the run and pass game, and was a difference-maker against the Eagles, especially considering how physically imposing Philadelphia's interior is, led by defensive tackle Jalen Carter.