The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-1, with a pair of wins over lesser opponents in the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans, and an embarrassing performance Week 3 against the Case Keenum-led Chicago Bears. In Week 4, they're facing the talented and desperate 1-2 Los Angeles Rams. Here are our five things to watch.

1) The Eagles' run defense vs. the Rams' rushing attack

The Rams are little more pass heavy than the teams that typically run their style of offense, but they're deadly when they're able to run it and then marry the play action passing game off of the run.

"They're really good," Vic Fangio said. "Not counting their San Francisco game in Australia, their last three games going back to the NFC Championship Game, they've gotten 500 yards in all three games against Seattle, the Giants, and Denver. Three good defenses. That in and of itself explains to you what the chore is we have. They run it very well. They stay committed to the run and they've got a really good play action game off of it that they marry very well to the run game. 

"You've got Stafford at quarterback, guy's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Got the weapons and the tight ends that they have and they're probably having Nacua back this week. So yeah, it's a tough assignment because they're balanced and they run and throw it very effectively."

So far in 2026, the Rams have been able to run it with their top two backs, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, who are both averaging at least 5.3 yards per carry.

In their Week 3 matchup against the Eagles last season, the Rams found success on the ground, with Williams and Corum combining for 28 carries for 147 yards (5.3 YPC).

We would normally start with the Rams' explosive passing attack when previewing this matchup, however, Zack Baun popped up on the Eagles' injury report with a concussion, and all three of the Eagles' interior defensive line starters are banged up. I imagine that Sean McVay will be looking to test the Birds' run defense.

One important thing to note is that Williams is a fumble machine. He has 12 fumbles since the 2023 season, and the Eagles have forced three of those. Here's all 12:

A lot of those fumbles are just careless fundamentals. He seems to be most vulnerable (a) while running through the line and not locking his wrist with his off hand, and (b) when he is looking ahead and doesn't see tacklers coming from the sides.

The Eagles do not yet have a defensive takeaway this season. They have also had a missed tackle problem this season. So, there will be a balance of making sure they get Williams on the ground, but also while trying to take advantage of a player who has gifted them so many crucial turnovers over the years.

2) The Rams' receivers vs. the Eagles' secondary

The Eagles' secondary stunk Week 3 against the Bears, so they will be looking to have a bounce-back game against the Rams, who employ one of the best WR duos in the NFL in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.

Nacua was a first-team All-Pro in 2025, after he racked up 129 catches for 1715 yards and 10 TD. His 129 catches and 80 receiving first downs led the NFL. Nacua is currently dealing with a hip injury that caused him to miss the first two games of the season. He did practice on Wednesday (limited), and as you read above Fangio expects Nacua to play.

While Nacua was out, Matthew Stafford leaned on Adams, who has 18 catches for 358 yards and 2 TDs. His 358 receiving yards are good for third in the NFL. Adams will turn 34 in December, but he can still play at a high level.

"He's got size, number one," Fangio said of Adams. "He's quick and a really good releaser off the ball. He knows how to body up DBs and get himself an advantage one way or the other. With a quarterback like Stafford, that's all you need."

Massive test for Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Riq Woolen.

(Also, the Eagles' safeties have been a major issue these first three games.)

3) Where might the Eagles go #Feastin' 🍗

The Rams' offensive line looks like this:

Solid, unspectacular line.

Stafford was sacked just twice in the Rams' first two games, but the Broncos found ways of pressuring him, beating the Rams' OL with some exotic, well-timed blitzes.

And the biggest play of the night came on a six man rush. Stafford hurried a throw that was pick-sixed.

One of the NFL's defensive trends this season has been to heavily blitz these Shanahan-McVay schemes, especially when they're under center. They have found success disrupting outside zone runs as well as the play action passing game. Good article here by JP Acosta CBS showing video examples of those trends.

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Vic Fangio's M.O. isn't heavy blitzing, but it will be interesting to see if he adjusts, especially with the Eagles' pass rush failing to make much of an impact (just three sacks) the first three games of the season, and all three starting interior linemen banged up.

For what it's worth, Fangio isn't panicking on his pass rush yet.

"I haven't felt like our rush has been poor," he said. "I mean, they're throwing it rather quickly a lot of times is part of it."

#FeastinMeter™️: 4/10 turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗

4) Can the Eagles continue their run game momentum?

The Eagles' run game finally got going in the first half against the Bears on Monday night. After his first 9 carries, Saquon Barkley had 74 yards, not including a 19-yard run that was negated by a Tyler Steen holding call away from the play. Here were those nine runs:

The offensive line opened up some holes, and I thought Barkley ran with good explosiveness and vision.

Thereafter, the run game was less awesome.

Barkley ran all over the Rams' defense in two games 2024, but they did a good job of bottling him up in their matchup last season.

• 2024, Week 12: 26 carries, 255 yards, 2 TDs.
• 2024, Divisional Round: 26 carries, 205 yards, 2 TDs.
• 2025, Week 3: 18 carries, 46 yards, 0 TDs.

If there was one positive that can be taken away from the Eagles' miserable night in Chicago on Monday, it was their run game in the first half, and it'll be interesting to see if they can build on that.

5) The Eagles' receivers vs. the Rams' banged-up secondary

The Rams' secondary is a little banged up heading into this matchup. Their normal configuration looks like so:

CB: Trent McDuffie
S: Kamren Curl
S: Kam Kinchens
SCB: Quentin Lake
CB: Jaylen Watson

• Kinchens has missed each of the last two games with a hamstring injury. He did practice on Wednesday, but was limited. When he got hurt, Lake moved to safety, and Josh Wallace filled in at the slot.

• Watson was carted off the field with a shoulder injury during the Rams' loss to the Broncos Week 3. When he got hurt, Wallace played outside corner, and moved into the slot in nickel, with Emmanuel Forbes playing on the outside. Of course, Forbes was a player who A.J. Brown reliably dominated during Brown's time with the Eagles, because he outweighed Forbes by like 40 pounds. That won't be as big of a mismatch this time around, but certainly the Eagles have prioritized attacking Forbes in the past.

• Wallace is now also on the injury report. He was limited on Wednesday with a shoulder injury.

In other words, the Rams have had to do some juggling in their secondary. To be determined who will be available on Sunday, and who won't.

So far, one of the bright spots for the Eagles has been the play of DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks. We also saw a glimpse of progress (baby steps, for sure) from Makai Lemon on Monday night, both as a receiver and blocker.

Honorable mention: Aaron Donald vs. the Eagles interior offensive line

The Eagles' guards have been disappointing so far this season, to put it mildly, and in Week 4 they'll face one of the NFL's all-time great defenders in Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement this season to play alongside Myles Garrett.

Donald has been underwhelming so far, and he did not practice on Wednesday with a sore back. We'll just mention that matchup here to sort of cover our bases.