The Los Angeles Rams were so close to beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL playoffs last season. They got as close as Philly’s 13-yard line before turning the ball over on downs in the final minute of the game to seal a 28-22 defeat. The loss eliminated them and served as a stepping stone for the Eagles’ run to Super Bowl glory.
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Los Angeles didn’t play badly against Philadelphia. The Rams had more total yards than the Eagles and sacked Jalen Hurts seven times. But they had no answers for Saquon Barkley. The NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year posted 232 total yards on Los Angeles’ defense, scampering for two lengthy touchdowns to build the lead Philly would cling to at the end of regulation.
Barkley faced the Rams twice last season: Week 12 and the NFC Divisional round. He ran for 460 yards (255 yards in Week 12, 205 in the postseason meeting) and four touchdowns (two in each game) against them. His yards per carry (8.8) across those contests were absurd.
Los Angeles’ struggles to contain Barkley fall on the shoulders of defensive coordinator Chris Shula. As he and Chris Long talked about on the Green Light podcast, he made adjustments to try to prevent Barkley from running roughshod in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Barkley overcame those efforts to carry Philly to victory. To Shula, Barkley’s special talent behind the Eagles’ offensive line is a deadly combination.
“When he gets through the line with any space, he’s the hardest guy to get down… a 12-yard run for a lot of guys, he turns it into 60 or 70 [yards]… [and] they have the best o-line in the league, too. They have for a while… [combating that] is the fun part about the NFL.” – Chris Shula
Shula said he’s excited to “get back to the drawing board” for the teams’ pending rematch in 2025. It’s possible they’ll battle one another in the league’s season-opening contest. If that’s the case, Shula will be able to spend months curating a game plan to stifle Barkley. He’ll learn the date of his revenge opportunity when the league reveals the full 2025 slate in May.
Meanwhile, Saquon is approaching the 2025 offseason in the high of winning a Super Bowl. “They just shower you with love,” Barkley said of Eagles fans. “And it’s been pretty cool for me and my family ’cause kind of how things ended in New York, there was always love and support there, but things didn’t end off on a great note, I guess you could say,” Barkley said about the Eagles Super Bowl win.
With 2025-26 season fast approaching, Barkley and Shula would leave no stones unturned to gift the team a memorable Super Bowl win, and emulate the Kansas City Chiefs to go for a three-peat in 2026-27 season.
