The Los Angeles Rams travel to the East Coast for their Week 4 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, and for a team with high expectations, their 1-2 start to the season is raising concerns about a fourth slow start in five years. If the Rams hope to get back to .500 this week, they'll need to be detailed against a team that has dominated them during the Sean McVay era.
For the Eagles, a blowout loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night has fans ready to riot if Philadelphia continues to play below its perceived potential. With so much at stake for two NFC contenders, here are the top three storylines entering this contest.
Health and wealth
General managers Les Snead and Howie Roseman are two of the NFL's best and could have a spot in Canton, Ohio waiting for
them one day. On this day, we'll see how good each executive is at scouting talent as both teams are set to be without star players.
DeVonta Smith and Zach Baun will be out for the Eagles, while Terrance Ferguson and Jaylen Watson won't play for Los Angeles. Colby Parkinson is also dealing with multiple ailments, as well.
The Eagles could be without the key piece to their passing game and their light box defensive approach. The Rams could be without the primary players needed to run their 13 personnel offense at full strength, and a crucial cornerback on the outside.
Who has the better roster and who has the better utilization of players could decide who wins this contest. Also, Aaron Donald is out with a back issue, just to make things more juicy.
Same old story or the beginning of a new chapter?
Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley are 3-0 against the Rams since they became teammates, and their prolific rushing attack has embarrassed Los Angeles since 2024. However, their successes were also predicated on the exterior threat of A.J. Brown, and the tutelage of offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Neither is with the team anymore, and as mentioned, Smith is out, as well.
Coming into the game, Smith wouldn't have the advantage of playing against a defense trying to stop two playmakers. Now, the Eagles might be down to Dontayvion Wicks and rookie Makai Lemon as the team's starting receivers.
What makes this even more intriguing is that the Rams passed on Lemon, a Southern California native who won the Bilitnikoff Award at USC, to draft quarterback Ty Simpson.
Did the Rams give a cross-country rival a weapon that could hurt them? Does it matter? Or will Hurts and Barkley dominate again? Will this be a new day for the Rams, and can they finally defeat Nick Sirianni?
Narratives versus reality
That last question brings us into the more captivating and barely talked about storyline in the NFL. Sean McVay and Nick Sirianni are looked at through different lenses, despite having the same resume. It's the Sean Payton versus Mike McCarthy argument. There is no argument because there is no difference, and it's the same for McVay and Sirianni.
McVay gets applauded because he's an offensive genius who does more with less. That's true. He's also the reason why he often has to deal with less. We know McVay approves every roster move the Rams make. The Ty Simpson selection solidified it.
McVay wanted Matthew Stafford; he wanted Jalen Ramsey; he wanted Von Miller; he wanted Myles Garrett. He knew the cost, he wanted them, and Snead made it happen. The by-product is that the rest of the roster is being filled with gambles. Some pay off, some don't, but that's how the Rams operate. Fair.
The reason Philadelphia has the talent they do is that they hit on the draft picks that Los Angeles trades away, while surrounding Hurts with pieces that allow him to use his dual-threat ability. Also fair.
Sirianni gets blamed for doing too little with so much. Compared to McVay, Sirianni does not have it from an X's and O's perspective. Hurts does not have the arm talent of Stafford. That's what we hear. The thing is that it doesn't matter because both are winners and have built their teams to win.
Both coaches built their teams in their own way. Both are Super Bowl champions. Both have lost a Super Bowl. McVay has had eight winning seasons, with seven playoff appearances in the last nine years. Sirianni has five playoff appearances and winning seasons in his five previous seasons as a head coach.
Both went to the playoffs in their first year, both lost the Super Bowl in their second, and both went back and won.
They both have growing head coaching trees; they both have moments of unreal success and unbelievable failures; they are two different sides of the very same coin. Both are strong leaders, innovators, and winners.
One gets loved, one gets hated. Sirianni is also 4-0 against McVay.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 3 big storylines for Rams vs. Eagles in Week 4
