The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Los Angeles Rams during the 2024 regular season and in the divisional round of the playoffs en route to winning Super Bowl LIX.
Those two teams will meet at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field in Week 3 of the upcoming campaign. During a recent appearance on NFL Network's "The Insiders" program, Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner made it clear he can't wait to face the Eagles on Sept. 21.
"I've had that loss in the back of my mind for a while," Turner said about the Rams falling to the Eagles this past January, as shared by Kevin Patra of the NFL's website. "Obviously, it's on to a new season and on to continue to progress, but I definitely have -- I believe it's Week 3 -- circled. I mean, even in the individual training right now, we're breaking down, 'OK, this is how some of the guys, some of the offensive linemen for the Eagles, this is how they block, and this is how we're going to defeat that.'"
This past November, Eagles running back and eventual Offensive Player of the Year Award winner Saquon Barkley torched the Rams for 255 rushing yards in a 37-20 Philadelphia win.
.@Saquon put on a stunning performance in the @Eagles' win over the Rams on #SNF!
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) November 25, 2024
Barkley set a franchise record 255 rushing yards AND set an @NFL record as the first player in history with two 70+ yard TDs in the second half of a game. pic.twitter.com/tk2DqArXHS
Less than two full months later, Barkley gave Los Angeles defensive players such as Turner more nightmares in what became a 28-22 postseason victory for the Eagles.
Eagles vs Rams: NFC Divisional Playoff
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) January 20, 2025
As heard on the Rams Radio Network
1. Saquon Barkley GONE! 62-yard house call! pic.twitter.com/myp6YRaBeB
You've been Snoquon Barkley'd ™️ ❄️@saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/SBV0ltUG5j
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 19, 2025
"...The thing that really got us last year is there's a couple of big runs," Turner added. "We stopped the run for the most part, handled it really well, but a couple of those runs where we didn't fit it up right, where Saquon was able to get to the second level fast, and he's super dangerous there. So at the end of the day, it's about getting Saquon down, and that's what we're gonna do a lot better of this year, making sure that we stop the run on the run."
A Rams team that held onto quarterback Matthew Stafford and that replaced veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp with Davante Adams this offseason is expected to once again be part of championship conversations come January. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Rams sixth among the betting favorites at +1000 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX.
"I'm just super excited to be able to run that back." Turner continued. "Obviously, [the Eagles] are Super Bowl champs, they won it, they deserve it and whatnot, but this year's a new year, and man, we definitely have that game circled, I definitely have that game circled, and I'm super excited to get another crack at those guys."
One wonders if that matchup will prove to be a preview of the upcoming NFC Championship Game.
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