Selling out to stop Saquon Barkley may be the Rams’ best path to victory

Saquon Barkley has had several memorable performances in his first season with the Eagles, but his clear best of the year came against Aries in Week 12. He rushed for 255 yards and two touchdowns, added another 47 yards receiving, and became the first player ever with 250 yards and 45 yards receiving in a single game.

His stat line was inflated by two touchdown runs of more than 70 yards in the second half, but he crushed the Rams all day on the ground.

Today, the Rams get a chance at redemption against Barkley and the Eagles — this time with a trip to the NFC title game on the line. And while they didn’t overestimate Barkley’s ability in Week 12, they need to focus on him even more today.

The Rams are a defense that likes to use light boxes and multiple sub packages with five and six defensive backs on the field at a time. It helps them cover receivers and tight ends better, but it can make them susceptible to big runs.

In Week 12, Barkley faced a packed box of eight-plus defenders on 34.62% of his carries. That’s above his season average of 20.58%. Even still, the Rams should fill the box more often today and have someone other than Barkley beat them.

No disrespect to Jalen Hurts, but the Rams have a better chance to win if Hurts throws it 35 times than they do if Barkley rushes for 150 yards on 25 carries. It’s risky, but if the Rams stack the line of scrimmage to stop Barkley and play man-to-man on the outside against AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, they have a chance to pull it off.

That could lead to big plays from the Eagles’ receivers, but it could also mean the Eagles are in third-and-long situations instead of facing third-and-short with Barkley averaging 5 yards a carry.

In their first meeting of the season, the Eagles were 9-for-15 on third down, in part because they managed to stay on schedule and have third-and-clear opportunities. Hurts only had to throw the ball 22 times, with only seven of those attempts coming after halftime.

Barkley, meanwhile, had 26 carries for 255 yards, averaging nearly 10 yards per carry. attempt. You’re not going to win a lot of games and give up 10 yards a carry as a defense.

The Rams should use Christian Rozeboom and Omar Speights more often, opt for heavier boxes and a stronger commitment to stopping the run. It may come at the expense of snaps for their defensive backs, but Philadelphia’s rushing attack is what wins the team games, not throwing the ball.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Selling out to stop Saquon Barkley may be the Rams’ best path to victory