The Eagles beat the Rams while again not clicking on all cylinders. Is it their secret weapon?

PHILADELPHIA — Sighs of relief filled the Philadelphia Eagles’ locker room after the game.

“Thank God for our defense,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said when asked about the win.

“That’s a big part of why we’re here celebrating now — because of that defense,” wide receiver DeVonta Smith added from another section of cubbies.

Even running back Saquon Barkley, fresh off 232 scrimmage yards but nonetheless part of an offense that didn’t reach the end zone for more than 41 minutes in the middle of the game, joined the chorus.

“Man, our defense is special and plays for us,” said Barkley, who rushed for a franchise playoff-record 205 yards. “We’re going to go back and see what we can do better offensively.”

In some ways, the concern hovering over Philadelphia’s offense felt dramatic. The Eagles had just won their 16th game of the season, including the playoffs, and will host the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game after edging past the Los Angeles Rams, 28-22.

The Eagles scored 28 points in a game that was generously characterized as snowy, and more accurately characterized as slush and sloppy. Their defense managed to generate a pass rush despite field conditions that left Rams head coach Sean McVay surprised that anyone could find a solid footing. The Eagles also took advantage of the weather conditions to force three turnovers in the second half.

Philadelphia’s game was far from perfect. And the recipe for this victory added another new page to the Eagles’ growing book. But three explosive touchdown runs (think: 44, 62 and 78 yards) that set up an opportunistic defense that didn’t seem to have lost a starting linebacker and cornerback this month were enough to outlast the Rams in a game of swinging momentum.

The Eagles sorted through their cognitive dissonance as the evening progressed. They were happy to return to their second conference title game in three seasons … while also paying close attention to the stalled drives and apparent injury setbacks and allowing the occasional explosive gain that could stand in the way of winning two more games to hoist the Lombardi Trophy .

“Our performance today was enough to win, but enough is never enough by the standards we have for ourselves and what we want to do,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “There’s always a hunger. There’s always a desire for more and this urge to keep getting better, and that’s how it will continue to be.

“When you play the game, it’s about getting better. But the most important thing in the playoffs is to win and find ways to win the game. We want to play complementary football, be able to find ways to win and go out there and find a way to win.”

In cold, wet play, the Eagles’ offense and defense picked each other up — because they needed to

On the game’s sixth play from scrimmage, Hurts threw a handoff to Barkley and hauled it in. He avoided tacklers as he zigzagged up the right touchline, Mailata in front and cleared a lane. Precipitation hadn’t yet obscured the vision or soiled the grass, but Rams defenders still found themselves spread out in a futile attempt to prevent Hurts from heading home.

“Saquon needed a break, so I told him I’d do it first,” Hurts later joked. “Give me a piece.”

His 44-yard touchdown wouldn’t just give the Eagles a shot of adrenaline. It would also require the Rams to account for the quarterback’s leg the rest of the day. That relieved some pressure on Barkley, who would travel a similar route 62 yards to the house before the quarter ended.

A two and a half quarter offensive break kept the Eagles from running away with the game’s score, as they would run away with two early scores. But the timing of Philadelphia’s explosions was fortuitous. Because as the game went on, the sleet that Barkley likened more to hail than snow began to cover the field more fervently. Eagles receivers dropped balls that seemed related both to their ability to track it through the waves and their ability to secure it with moisture. Kicks were not safe and defensive backs struggled to back fluidly.

“It was ass, because it was goddamn blocks of ice under my foot the whole time,” Eagles pass rusher Josh Sweat said. “And with every step the dirt just got higher and higher. If you just watch, you’ll see me cleaning my damn feet every step.

“I’d rather play on that s***ty Brazil pitch again before I play on it again. I won’t lie to you.”

No one used the pitch conditions as an excuse, both coaches and players were well aware that their opponent faced the same conditions. But in evaluating what went right and what went wrong, the Eagles honestly looked through the prism of the snow globe in which this game was played to accept: While 128 yards and no touchdowns doesn’t meet the passing standard for an offense with Hurts, A.J. Brown, Smith, Dallas Goedert, Barkley and more … in playoff games that depend heavily on variation, filtering a team’s strengths through the circumstances they can’t change is the way to win.

With a field so slippery and sinking, the Eagles changed their cleats at halftime, trying to win the turnover battle, slow Rams drives and play an efficient game that would maximize their chances to break off the occasional explosive. Barkley would nearly ice the game with a 78-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, points that were even more desperately needed after an awkward tackle that landed Hurts in the blue medical tent for about five minutes. Hurts didn’t miss a snap but wore a brace to end the game, his limited mobility evident as the Rams sacked him for safety.

So no, Mailata reiterated, the Eagles didn’t play to their “standard.” But they checked the “survive and win” playoff box, crucial in a postseason format that features one game per game. round instead of best of five or seven.

The Eagles’ offense flashed enough. Its defenses rose mightily to the occasion.

“The team is built exactly the way you want the team to be built: We pick each other up,” cornerback Darius Slay said. “(When) we don’t play our best, the offense plays its best. The offense doesn’t play our best, the defense plays its best.

“(When) we both play our best, we just blow people away.”

The Eagles may have the right disruptor to slow down Jayden Daniels

As defensive tackle Jalen Carter answered questions at his corner locker, a startling voice rang out from a few feet to his right.

“Do you need me to take a picture, JC?” shouted general manager Howie Roseman. “Do you need me to take a picture of what you look like right now?”

Carter fielded questions from reporters interested enough to talk to him to miss Barkley’s concurrent session.

Box scores rarely capture a defensive tackle’s impact well — but Carter was disruptive enough to pierce even that metric of success. Carter recorded five tackles, two sacks, three quarterback hits, a pass breakup and a forced fumble against a team that knows how punishing a star defensive tackle can be.

Also credit Carter with sealing the win as he did sacked Matthew Stafford for a 9-yard loss on third-and-2 with 1:14 to play and then Stafford hit again on fourth-and-11, the final drive that preceded the Eagles’ winning formation kneeling.

He routinely broke up plays and created enough chaos for teammates to deliver, including cornerback Isaiah Rodgers breaking up Carter’s fumble to return it 40 yards and edge rusher Nolan Smith’s later strip-sack that set up a recovery by linebacker Zack Bean.

Roseman couldn’t help but fawn over his 2023 first-round draft pick rounding into dominant form.

“I’m proud of you,” Roseman shouted into Carter’s interview as he snapped a photo with his phone.

Head coach Nick Sirianni later echoed his general manager’s praise.

“Jalen Carter, he’s special,” Sirianni said. “For him to rush the passer the way he did, and our group to rush the way we did in moments when the footing wasn’t good — that, to me, was a championship effort from the defense.”

The Eagles will need another championship effort from their defense next week to survive the Commanders and rookie phenom Jayden Daniels, who threw for 567 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in the Commanders’ postseason upsets of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.

Philadelphia will likely need another release from Barkley, and if the Eagles want to feel good about their Super Bowl berth chances, they should hope for a healthier and less sloppy version of their passing game.

The Eagles can’t guarantee which of the myriad offensive and defensive looks they’ve showcased this season will prove to be the most useful. But in some ways, they’re celebrating the fact that they haven’t clicked on all cylinders—because they believe that the ways they’ve individually tapped each cylinder will ultimately give them a deeper arsenal from which to draw what they hope is two more games to come.

Sirianni calls the Eagles’ brand “battle-tested” and encourages his players to embrace adversity.

From the sounds of his team’s locker room, they are.

“Battle adversity, Nick talked about a lot this week,” Baun said. “You never know what it’s going to be before the game, but when it happens, how do you react? I think we reacted.

“Excitability is our specialty.”