PHILADELPHIA – Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse talked the talk and walked the walk.
On a third-and-eight from the Rams' 31-yard line, Verse pushed inside past Eagles' All Pro right tackle Lane Johnson, then put right guard Mekhi Becton (who is 6-foot-7, 363 lbs) on his back before tossing Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts down with ease. His first career playoff sack and put the Eagles out of field goal range, potentially saving L.A. three points.
Earlier this week, Verse's pointed comments upset Eagles fans, and they let him hear it before the game. After that sack, Verse returned the favor, heading back to the bench to encourage the heckles from the Philadelphia faithful. Against the best offensive tackle duo in the NFL, Verse finished the game with two sacks, five pressures and a 25% win rate on true pass snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
"I feel I played good. I could have been better... There's more I could have done," Verse said. "I like hostile environments. That don't mean nothing to me. It doesn't faze me. It hypes me up more."
A week after tying the NFL playoff record with nine sacks, the Rams' pass rush was relentless against what is widely considered a top-two offensive line. They collected seven sacks, including one for a safety on a snow-covered Lincoln Financial Field, some of which came in the game's biggest moments. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to come out of Philadelphia victorious, as Los Angeles lost 28-22, ending its season.
With 30 seconds remaining in the first half and Philadelphia in field goal range, linebacker Omar Speights slipped through the protection on a blitz. He sacked Hurts and forced a backwards fumble, which the Eagles recovered. But, yet again, they were placed out of field goal range and were forced to try a hail mary, resulting in Verse's second sack of the day.
Speights' play was the second of the game that potentially saved Los Angeles three points.
The Eagles' rushing attack was what set them over the top, as they secured three rushing touchdowns of over 40 yards. Verse said he could have done more to stifle that rushing attack, especially from Saquon Barkley, who Verse called "the best in the league right now." Barkley finished with 205 yards and two scores on the ground.
"It really comes down to just owning our assignments each and every play," defensive end Kobie Turner said of the lapses against the run. "And there was three or four plays where we let him break loose, and once he gets on the second and third level, he's really hard to tackle."
Even with Barkley's explosives, the Rams were competitive throughout. After an Ethan Evans punt pinned the Eagles at their own four-yard line, Jalen Hurts dropped back from his own eight on second down. Los Angeles brought Speights on another blitz and rushed three others, but it wasn't their usual star-studded front.
Nose tackle Neville Gallimore and defensive end Keir Thomas (who was a practice squad player for the majority of the season) combined to take down Hurts in the end zone for a safety. That put the Rams within one point of Philadelphia in the third quarter.
Then, with the game on the line, Turner stepped up. A first down would have likely put the game away, but instead of running the ball on second-and-long, Hurts rolled out on a bootleg, where Turner dropped him for a 12-yard loss. That third-and-long was not converted, giving the Rams one more shot at the end zone, down six with 2:23 remaining.
"We were completely expecting, and believing in the fact that (quarterback Matthew Stafford) could lead us to a touchdown drive," Turner said.
However, a failed fourth-and-11 conversion in the final minute on that drive ended Los Angeles' season. Still, it was an all-time performance from the Rams' pass rush, which lost a pivotal piece in defensive end Braden Fiske early in the game. They continued to make an impact until the bitter end.
"I never want to feel like this again," Verse said. "I don't want my teammates to feel like this again. I only want to look in their eyes and see anything but pure bliss and pure happiness. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen again."
