The Philadelphia Eagles have been the Los Angeles Rams’ kryptonite since Sean McVay arrived in Los Angeles. With both teams set to face each other for the fourth straight season, L.A. must figure out a way to get past their nemesis in 2026 or risk falling short in the conference yet again.
Under McVay, the Rams are 1-6 against the Eagles, including 0-4 against the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Hurts duo. The lone win came in 2020 versus a severely broken Carson Wentz.
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Since then, L.A. has been hard-pressed to secure a win over their NFC rival, with each loss, particularly in the Sirianni era, being more painful than the last. Apologies in advance for this sucky trip down memory lane.
2025 – Week 3 (Lost 33-26)
This is the one that got away from the Rams. The final result was one of several reasons the team failed to secure the NFC’s top seed last season, aside from special teams, not playing guys in the preseason, I could go on.
Up 19 in the third quarter against an Eagles team unable to air it out consistently, L.A. gave up 26 unanswered points to fall short again at Lincoln Financial Field.
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The ending to this one hurt like hell, as the team did have a chance to pull out the win despite letting Philly back in it. Two blocked kicks in the final frame, unfortunately, sealed the Rams’ fate. McVay is still having difficulty processing the ending of this one all these months later.
Again, there were a variety of reasons the Rams failed to secure the conference’s top seed. Had they pulled this one out, they still might not have gotten home-field advantage, but they could’ve at the very least put more pressure on the Seahawks late in the season.
2024 – Week 12 (Lost 37-20) & Divisional Round (Lost 28-22)
Both Rams-Eagles matchups from the 2024 season can be summarized in two words: Saquon Barkley. L.A.‘s failure to stop the All-Pro was the main culprit for the pair of losses that year, as Barkley twice ran Chris Shula’s unit out of the stadium.
In both games, Philadelphia managed to break open a close game thanks to Barkley’s running and mistakes by L.A.
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During the regular season, Kyren Williams opened up the first drive of the game with a fumble. The Rams moved the ball for most of the night in the 37-20 loss, but couldn’t keep pace. Williams’ fumble was far from costing the team a win, yet a mistake like that killed any chance at Los Angeles keeping pace in a game that very well could’ve become a shootout.
Then in the playoffs, the Rams actually had a chance against a superior opponent … until they didn’t. Down one with the ball in their hands after the Eagles took a safety, Williams lost a fumble against Philly for the second time that season. A few plays later, down four, it was Matthew Stafford’s turn to fumble. Eventually, L.A. had a chance late in the game, making it all the way to the 22-yard line before turning it over on downs. Those fumbles turned a potential massive upset into what might’ve been.
Being unable to stop the run is the primary reason the Rams just missed out on an NFC Championship appearance in 2024. Giving up nearly 600 total yards on the ground was never going to be a recipe for success, in addition to the other mistakes that happened along the way.
2023 – Week 5 (Lost 23-14)
Los Angeles had a BRUTAL schedule to kick off the 2023 campaign, made tougher by hosting the reigning NFC champs. Not much was expected from the Rams that year, but they missed out on a signature win early in the year.
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Cooper Kupp’s return powered the team to a decent start, highlighted by a three-point deficit entering halftime.
After that, the Eagles completely shut down L.A. in the second half. The Rams were held to 95 yards and failed to cross midfield after halftime.
At least the defense was the saving grace in this one, holding Philly to a pair of field goals, which were both scored in the fourth quarter.
Rams working against troubling history
Struggling against the Eagles is not exclusively a McVay problem.
The Rams have beaten Philly only six times since 1978. Additionally, they have secured back-to-back wins over the team once (2001-02) in that stretch, after having beaten the Eagles seven straight times from 1964-78.
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For reasons explained above and otherwise, the Rams have a troubling history against their NFC foe, one they’ll be working against until they can figure out a way to put the past behind them.
With a fourth straight season facing Philadelphia, the Rams won’t fully get over the hump if they cannot beat one of the teams expected to be in their way during this upcoming season.
