INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Rams marched into the red zone on two-straight possessions to start Sunday Night Football, but things went downhill from there. Los Angeles endured three-straight three-and-outs after that, as the Eagles went up 13-7 at the half. The second half featured a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley explosives, as he took the first play 70 yards to the house and finished with 302 total yards and two touchdowns, both of which went 70-plus yards.
After the game, head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford spoke with the media about the Rams' 37-20 loss against the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. Here are the top quotes and talking points from the press conferences, which can be viewed below:
"(Barkley) is getting tough, hard-earned yards, and then you give him a vertical seam like he got a couple times, and he's got the explosiveness and the long speed and the ability to be able to finish, and that was what really opened up and really blew the game open." - McVay
Barkley's 70-yard touchdown to start the second half but the Rams down two scores, and they couldn't claw their way back in. McVay said they showed some "aggressive looks" later in the game, and he took advantage by finding the vertical seam and didn't slow down.
The Eagles' front was "winning some one-on-ones" throughout the night, which made things difficult for Stafford. McVay said it "wasn't anything different" from what they had seen on tape, but they just executed better than the Rams did. The Rams went 0-for-8 on third down, which has been a lingering issue throughout the season, and McVay said it comes down to execution, but "it wasn't one thing in particular."
Running back Kyren Williams had a costly fumble on the first drive of the game, and then lost the ball again later on. When asked if he's worried about it, McVay said "that's something that we have to be better at for sure."
"They rushed four the majority of the night, that's kind of what they do. Didn't do anything that we didn't expect, just executed a little bit better than we did, stayed ahead of the chains a little better than we did... Just didn't do enough in the second half to keep it close." - Stafford
Stafford was sacked five times despite few blitzes from the Eagles. When Stafford was getting pressured more consistently, he said they "tried to mix it (up)" as much as possible.
They tried to move the pocket on rollouts, hand the ball off, get the quick game going and resort to play-action with held on the edges, but they weren't efficient enough and their drives stalled. That put the Rams behind the sticks on some key drives, and Stafford said the Rams "didn't put ourselves in a lot of favorable" third downs, which led to the 0-for-8 showing.
Williams' fumble on the first drive didn't impact Stafford's mindset going forward, as he said "it's gotta be the next play." Of the other back, Stafford said he was "impressed with (Barkley's) ability" when he first played against him on the Giants, and he was again tonight.
