PHILADELPHIA — You want to get ready for Eagles versus Rams?
Listen to Jordan Mailata. He’ll get you in the mood for the NFC Divisional game scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
“It’s going to be mano a mano,” the Eagles left tackle said after practice Wednesday. “It’s going to be good on good. That’s what people want to see.”
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The Rams’ defense looked great Monday night during the team’s dominating Wild Card victory over the Minnesota Vikings, who, like the Eagles, finished the season with a 14-3 record. The Rams, despite dealing with wild fires that forced them to move their game from California to Arizona, tied a playoff record with nine sacks as they rolled to a 27-9 victory. The Rams, according to Pro Football Focus, also pressured Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold 42 times, the most by any team this season.
Mailata was impressed, but not overly so.
“The Vikings pissed me off,” Mailata said. “I’m not going to lie to you. They made (the Rams) look like they were other worldly. I mean, they’re a great … defense, but if you really watch it you’d say, ‘Man, this is a poor plan by (the Vikings) and (the Rams) play tough. (The Vikings) just weren’t matching them in the physical battle, which I tip my hat to the Rams. You could see it from the jump … and when it came to pass protection it wasn’t anything but technique and unblocked blitzes, which is something we’re taking a keen eye on this week and making sure we’re on the same page.”
The Vikings pissed me off. I’m not going to lie to you. That made them look like they were other worldly. I mean they’re a … great defense, but if you really watch it you’d say, ‘Man, this is a poor plan by them’ and (the Rams) play tough and they just weren’t matching the physical battle, which I tip my hat off to the Rams. You could see from the jump it was clash, clash, clash and when it came to pass protection it wasn’t anything but technique and then unblocked blitzes, which is something we’re taking a keen eye on this week and making sure we’re all on the same page.”
Despite the Rams’ impressive defensive performance against the Vikings, Mailata is confident that the Eagles won’t let something similar happen to quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“This is where we have to give them credit but also understand we are good players, too,” Mailata said. “So we’re going to be put in situations where we are one on one and you have to win that block. When you look at those continuous waves of guys who were just successful at getting sacks, that’s what you get paid to do. You get paid to block those guys and unfortunately there are going to be plays where you have to block them one on one and there won’t be a plan.”
According to PFF, Mailata and fellow tackle Lane Johnson are asked to go one-on-one more often than any other players at their position in the NFL. That’s a challenge against the Rams because they have a strong rotation of pass rushers, including rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
“They have a lot of young guys, but the more they play together the better they’ve gotten,” Johnson said. “They have a lot of sacks, pressures. Braden Fiske, 91 (Kobie Turner), all those guys. They really do a good job of playing well together and they do a lot of good stuff running (stunts). That’s what I saw a lot in the Minnesota game was them running games and taking turns going after the quarterback.”
The Eagles only allowed Hurts to be sacked once in the first meeting between the teams on Nov. 24 and the quarterback completed 15 of 22 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. The Rams’ pass rush didn’t present of a problem during the Eagles’ 37-20 victory because Saquon Barkley accounted for a career-high 255 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The Rams are sure to try a different defensive approach in this game.
“They’ve been very disruptive up front,” Hurts said. “We just have to come and execute. I think it starts in the trenches in a game like this. We’ve been able to run the ball effectively and so hopefully we’ll continue to oppose our will up front.”
The main concern about the Eagles after their playoff win over the Green Bay Packers and for much of this season has been their ability to throw the football. Hurts threw for just 131 yards and was sacked twice. Star receiver A.J. Brown caught just one pass for 10 yards in that game.
“I think there were some opportunities (against the Packers),” Hurts said. “I think there’s always going to be something you want back or you wish you could have done or taken advantage of, but ultimately I think we made plays when we needed to the most and that’s what matters.”
Hurts made it clear that he’s not worried about how many yards he throws for or any other personal statistic as he takes the Eagles on their fourth playoff journey of his career.
“I think you guys need to understand that i don’t play for anything other than to win,” he said. “My role in each game will be different and the approach in each game is different. You just want to go out there and do your job and take advantage of opportunities. I think some things are magnified a little bit more because there are less opportunities in certain areas. But ultimately it’s about winning the game.”
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com