The Los Angeles Rams entered Sunday night’s home date with the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles as two-touchdown favorites.
What followed was pretty much one of the most-shocking results of the NFL season. Battling for their playoff lives with backup Nick Foles replacing the injured Carson Wentz under center, the Eagles came out on top by the score of 30-23.
The game itself was defined by struggles from Rams quarterback Jared Goff. The third-year signal caller threw two more interceptions and has now been picked off seven times in the past three games. Goff had thrown six interceptions in his first 11 starts. More than the turnovers, he was high and inaccurate throughout the evening.
Meanwhile, Foles came in and played at the level we saw en route to him earning the Super Bowl MVP award this past February.
There’s one stat that shows us just how much Foles outplayed his younger counterpart in the huge Eagles win.
Jared Goff on 3D: 5-for-11, 63 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 25.9 passer rating.
Nick Foles on 3D: 8-for-9, 99 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 0 sacks, 112.5 passer rating,
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) December 17, 2018
This is a representation of just how much Goff struggled in specific situations. Teams need their quarterback to be much better on third down. Those are the downs that will win and lose games. Having completed just 5-of-11 passes with an interception on third down, Goff cost his team the game.
On the other hand, Foles was absolutely brilliant within the confines of situational football. He missed on just one pass on third down. That came on a down-field shot with the Eagles up 30-13 in the fourth quarter.
By virtue of this win, Philadelphia is now just a half game out of the final wild-card spot in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Rams are still facing competition from Chicago for the No. 2 overall seed and a first-round bye.