Jalen Hurts and the defense lead the Eagles past the Rams in a road win that pushes the Birds to 5-0

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Playing in front of a sea of green jerseys in the stands on the road, quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown looked right at home.

The duo connected six times for 127 yards on Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Rams, paving the way to the Eagles’ 23-14 victory at SoFi Stadium and remaining undefeated after five games. Brown racked up over 100 receiving yards for a third straight game.

“Coming into the stadium, I said, ‘Today is gonna be a home game,’” Brown said. “And that’s what it was.

“They showed up and we appreciate them. They all the way out here in L.A. Across the world. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”

One week after feasting against Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, Brown made critical plays against second-year Rams corner Derion Kendrick. With 17 seconds remaining in the first half on third-and-1 with the Eagles down, 14-10, Brown beat Kendrick off the line of scrimmage and made a one-handed grab for 38 yards to the Rams’ 28-yard line. Kendrick took Brown down with a horse-collar tackle, adding 14 yards to the Eagles’ field position.

On the next play, Kendrick was called for pass interference against Brown in the end zone, moving the Eagles to the 1. Hurts punched the ball in on the Eagles’ signature tush push to pull ahead and secure a 17-14 lead at halftime. The Eagles never relinquished the lead.

Once again, the Eagles were flawed in the red zone, going just 2-for-6 on their trips. But the offense continued to show signs of progress, especially in the quarterback run game. Hurts picked up 72 yards on 15 carries with his legs, a season high, on a mix of designed runs and scrambles. In the passing game, he went 25-of-38 (65.8%) for 303 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“We have to be better in the red zone in general,” Hurts said. “But I think we’re taking steps in a positive direction.”

Going into the game, Dallas Goedert was still searching for his first touchdown of the season. He had collected just 88 yards on 13 receptions through four games. Goedert may have been out of sight in the box score, but he certainly hasn’t been out of offensive coordinator Brian Johnson’s mind, as he got the tight end involved right away on the first drive of the game.

Goedert made an impact on the second play, picking up 12 yards on a shallow crossing route on second-and-5 from the Eagles’ 30-yard line. He capped off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown reception to put the Eagles up, 7-0. On the opening drive alone, Goedert hauled in four passes for 45 yards and the touchdown grab, exceeding his previous single-game high of 41 yards (on five receptions) this season in Week 3 against the Buccaneers.

He continued to show up as the game wore on, especially in the third quarter. On first-and-10 from the Eagles’ 20, Hurts connected with Goedert on a 49-yard gain as he stiff-armed safety Russ Yeast in the process. But the Rams spoiled Goedert’s explosive play when cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon picked off Hurts in the end zone on a back-shoulder pass intended for Brown.

On his best day of the season, Goedert finished with eight receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.

“It felt good,” Goedert said. “That first drive was a lot of fun. But at the same time, we’ve just got to stay patient and whatever’s working, we’ve got to continue to stick with and just wait for the opportunities, because with the team we have, we’re so special.”

One of the Eagles’ bigger challenges aside from handling defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who was largely neutralized by the offensive line and did not have a sack, would be attempting to limit the damage inflicted by wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The star receiver made his season debut on Sunday after spending the start of the year on injured reserve with a hamstring ailment. He quickly made his mark on the game.

On third-and-4 on the Rams’ opening drive, lined up in the slot, Kupp had a 17-yard reception in the middle of the field with second-year cornerback Mario Goodrich in coverage. On the very next play, quarterback Matthew Stafford hit Kupp in the slot again for an 11-yard gain, this time on a crossing route with linebacker Nicholas Morrow expected to cover him. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai attempted to use a variety of players in the slot on the first drive to defend Kupp, including undrafted rookie Eli Ricks. But Kupp finished the drive with five receptions for 56 yards.

After that drive, Desai opted to have 11-year veteran Darius Slay follow Kupp on some of the ensuing plays, even in the slot. Kupp had occasional success, including a 39-yard reception following the two-minute warning in the first half that set the Rams up for an eventual touchdown to pull ahead, 14-10.

But Kupp was far quieter in the second half, posting just two receptions for 23 yards. He finished the game with eight catches for 118 yards.

“In the first half, I was trying to get to him,” Slay said. “But in the second half, we just went back to regular and whoever was on him was on him. And we just played it in a smart way, because there was just too much communication going on.”

While Donald may have been the talk of the town heading into the game, rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter stole the show. On second-and-9 after the two-minute warning in the first half, Carter beat right guard Kevin Dotson one-on-one and got his hands on Stafford, tripping him up for a loss of a yard and a sack.

Then, on the Rams’ first drive to start the second half, Carter turned center Coleman Shelton into a revolving door, breezing past him on another one-on-one to sack Stafford again. Now, Carter is up to 3½ sacks through five games. According to the team, Carter is the third Eagle to post 3½-plus sacks in his first five games, joining Corey Simon (4 in 2000) and Reggie White (4½ in 1985).

Edge rusher Haason Reddick got a piece of Stafford, too. With the Eagles defending their 23-14 lead, with roughly three minutes remaining in the game, Reddick sacked Stafford on consecutive plays. On the second sack, he forced a turnover on downs, bringing the Eagles’ offense on the field at the Rams’ 28-yard line. After failing to register a sack through the first three games of the season, Reddick is up to three sacks in his last two.