Eagles hold off Rams to remain undefeated to start 2023

Jalen Hurts passed for 303 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 72 yards and another score, and the Philadelphia Eagles outlasted the Los Angeles Rams 23-14 on Sunday to remain unbeaten.

Dallas Goedert had eight catches for 117 yards and an early TD for the Eagles, who are off to their second consecutive 5-0 start despite getting tested throughout this meeting of the last two NFC champions.

A.J. Brown had six catches for 127 yards, but the Eagles couldn’t reach the end zone in the second half and had to rely on their defense, which shut out the Rams (2-3) after halftime.

Cooper Kupp had eight catches for 118 yards in the former Super Bowl MVP’s dynamic season debut for the Rams, who have lost three of four despite hanging in with three probable Super Bowl contenders during that stretch. Kupp made five catches for 56 yards on Los Angeles’ opening drive, but the offense struggled after that.

Matthew Stafford passed for 222 yards and hit Tutu Atwell and rookie Puka Nacua for touchdowns, but Los Angeles’ offense didn’t cross midfield in the second half. Nacua finished with seven catches for a career-low 71 yards.

The Eagles earned another road victory punctuated by another set of successful “tush push” plays, but they’ll also lament missed opportunities while failing to score at least 25 points for the first time this season despite racking up 454 total yards.

Philadelphia went 13 for 18 on third downs after struggling in that area last week, but also had to settle for short field goals by Jake Elliott after drives lasting 17 plays, 15 plays and 10 plays.

The Philly defense covered for the offense’s shortcomings, with Eagles rookie Jalen Carter picking up two sacks in the stadium where he won a national title with Georgia nine months ago. Haason Reddick also had two sacks.

After coming off injured reserve this week, Kupp made a remarkable return to the NFL in the first game since November 2022 for the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year. Kupp missed the final eight games of last season with an ankle injury before getting sidelined early in this year’s training camp with a hamstring injury.

Goedert caught a 6-yard scoring pass to cap Philadelphia’s opening drive, but the Rams responded with a 14-play march that included six targets of Kupp before Atwell’s TD catch.

Los Angeles went up 14-10 with 32 seconds left in the first half with a drive including two exceptional throws by Stafford, who hit Kupp for a 39-yard gain before finding Nacua in the corner for a 22-yard TD.

But Hurts scored on a 1-yard tush push at the halftime gun after going 75 yards with major help from Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick, who committed 28 yards in penalties while trying to defend Brown.

LA’s Ahkello Witherspoon made an impressive end-zone interception in the third quarter to keep the Eagles from pulling away, but the Rams’ offense couldn’t capitalize on any opportunity.

INJURIES

Eagles: DT Fletcher Cox (back pain) missed his first game of the season.

Rams: DL Bobby Brown left the field on a cart with his right leg stabilized with 1:50 to play. … OL Joseph Noteboom missed his first game of the season after injuring his groin last week.

UP NEXT

Eagles: At the New York Jets next Sunday.

Rams: Host Arizona next Sunday.