Eagles OC Kellen Moore had some seriously high praise for ‘really impressive’ Rams defense

Eagles OC Kellen Moore says the Rams’ defense is “playing as well as any defense in the league”

The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t have much trouble moving the ball against the Los Angeles Rams in their 37-20 win in Week 12. They gained a season-high 481 yards, 314 of which came on the ground, picking up 24 first downs and converting nine of their 15 third-down attempts.

That game was almost two months ago and things have changed significantly for the Rams defense. Los Angeles has given up more than 14 points just twice since that loss, and one of those instances was in Week 18 when starters were resting.

Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is well-aware of the improvements the Rams have made on that side of the ball and he had some high praise for Chris Shula’s defense heading into Sunday’s rematch.

Long time between those two games, a bunch of other games,” Moore said, via NFL.com. “They are playing as well as any defense in the league right now, and they are playing really confidently. They will stress us in a lot of different ways. And there will be a lot of challenges associated with our run game based on them having the film and the film they have put out the last month and a half, which has been really, really impressive. It will be a challenge.”

The Rams are coming off one of their best defensive performances of the season, giving up only 269 yards to the Vikings in their wild-card win on Monday night. They sacked Sam Darnold nine times, which tied a playoff record, and eight different players had at least a half-sack – also a playoff record.

The pass rush was unleashed on Monday after jumping out to a 24-3 lead before halftime, getting the Vikings into a pass-heavy game script. Moore knows how dangerous the Rams’ young rushers can be if the Eagles get into obvious passing situations.

“Playing really clean, really sound football,” Moore said. “You can tell every phase of that defense is tied together, and obviously the front is doing an excellent job getting pressure and the challenge when you get into obvious passing situations. Those guys are as good as it gets in this league collectively.”

From Jared Verse and Byron Young to Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, Los Angeles’ defensive front is unquestionably one of the best in the NFL. They were relentless with their pursuit to the ball against the Vikings and they’ll try to bring that same energy to Philadelphia on Sunday.