3 Los Angeles Rams to blame after losing Divisional Playoff game to Eagles

Saquon Barkley's 78-yard touchdown run to put the Philadelphia Eagles up 28-15 with less than five minutes remaining felt like the dagger. But the Los Angeles Rams had other plans, nearly pulling off an improbable Divisional Round comeback.

Philadelphia narrowly escaped despite a fierce late-game comeback effort from the Rams. It wasn't a pretty ending to a snowy slugfest, but the Eagles survived and advanced. And now, an NFC Championship Game matchup with their division rival Washington Commanders awaits.

Meanwhile, the Rams offseason is officially underway. After a 10-7 regular-season finish yielded an NFC West crown and second-round exit, it's back to the drawing board for Los Angeles. Albeit an unfortunate way to conclude the 2024 campaign, they had their chances to take down the Eagles but failed to capitalize.

There's plenty of blame to throw around after a crushing defeat like this. Nonetheless, these three Rams are the main culprits for falling short against the Eagles.

3. Chris Shula, Defensive Coordinator

Barkley and the Eagles were gashing the Rams through the ground all day. Philly ran for 285 yards, tied for the eighth-most by a team in NFL postseason history. Yet, for whatever reason, defensive coordinator Chris Shula didn't make the necessary adjustments.

Shula ostensibly didn't learn from their Week 12 meeting when Barkley amassed an Eagles franchise record-setting 302 scrimmage yards. Los Angeles continued deploying single-high safety coverage, which resulted in numerous explosive runs. At some point, it's on the Rams coaching staff to alter their game plan accordingly, especially in a win-or-go-home setting.

Considering Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a knee injury that visibly hampered him, selling out to stop Barkley should've been Shula's priority. But the Rams stayed the course and continued surrendering chunk gains to the All-Pro running back.

As the grandson of legendary NFL head coach Don Shula, he comes from a line of football royalty. The soon-to-be 39-year-old was generating buzz as a sneaky up-and-coming candidate in this offseason's hiring cycle, though that can be put on ice for now.

2. Rams offensive line

Rams signal-caller Matthew Stafford took five sacks for a loss of 33 yards. Their offensive line had no answers for the Eagles front seven, specifically ascending young defenders Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith.

Carter, Smith and Co. wreaked havoc. They relentlessly generated pressure and made life even more difficult for Stafford and a Rams scoring unit struggling to play through the elements. The veteran passer rarely threw from a clean pocket, posting a paltry sub-60 completion percentage (considerably below the league average rate of 65.3).

Los Angeles double-teamed Carter for much of the contest, but he got a one-on-one opportunity with sixth-round rookie center Beaux Limmer and took advantage. The former burned the latter with a nasty swim move that helped the Eagles seal the ballgame. Moreover, right guard Kevin Dotson made several glaring mistakes that came back to haunt the Rams, particularly on the team's final drive.

1. Puka Nacua, WR

The box score may deceive folks into thinking Puka Nacua had a productive outing. However, he caught two passes for 47 yards on the final drive that beefed up his numbers, masking an underwhelming performance.

Nacua had some uncharacteristic drops, including a critical third-down miscue, demonstrated by his inefficient 6-97 stat line on a whopping 14 targets. He made an insane acrobatic, over-the-shoulder grab in crunch time that gave the Rams a chance to steal the game. But overall, the bad outweighed the good.

Perhaps the weather impacted Nacua. Be that as it may, if he wants to be recognized as one of the league's truly elite wide receivers, that shouldn't matter. The great pass-catchers overcome obstacles and elevate their offense, no matter the circumstances.

As the focal point of the Rams passing attack and offensive group, Nacua didn't deliver when they needed him most. With fellow wideout Cooper Kupp aging rapidly and gracelessly before our eyes, he had to step up. Alas, that was far from the case, which is why the Eagles managed to send Los Angeles packing despite a less-than-stellar showing.