Are Rams more fit to beat Eagles on the road in the elements?

Is this version of the Rams more capable of winning a cold weather playoff game?

The Los Angeles Rams are set to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Rams, the weather in that game is set to be less than optimal to say the least. Forecasted to be 34 degrees and snowing, the Rams will be battling through the elements to earn a place in the NFC Championship game. However, throughout his career, Sean McVay’s record in cold weather games hasn’t been great with just a 4-4 record. Additionally, Matthew Stafford is just 1-8 in snow games. That includes a loss in Philadelphia in the infamous “snow bowl” game.

While the Rams haven’t necessarily done well in cold weather games, including a playoff loss in Green Bay in 2020, this specific team seems different. The Rams built this specific roster to be physical and grind out difficult wins. While things didn’t necessarily work out with Jonah Jackson, this version of the Rams offense was designed to take the fight to opponents. There’s a reason why they rank at the top of the NFL in power success rate at 80 percent. The Rams came into the season with the third-heaviest offensive line in the NFL. That didn’t change even with swapping Jackson for Beaux Limmer who is only three pounds lighter.

When all five of those players have been healthy, the Rams are 5-0 this season. Kyren Williams has rushed for over 100 yards in three of those games and averaged 4.4 yards per carry. Matthew Stafford has also been sacked just four times — twice in games against the Saints and Vikings.

This is a Rams team that has shown the ability to win in the cold and the elements. They did so against the 49ers in the rain and the following week in the cold against the Jets. Over the course of the season, the Rams have shown the ability to grind out games and win ugly. Former Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth recently discussed why the Rams may be better fit to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia than at SoFi.

“I think you can make an argument with how this Rams team is built that they actually have a better chance in Philly than they do at SoFi. When you play a team like Philly who is as good as they are on the perimeter with the receivers and you’re on turf…I know for myself when you’re an offensive lineman on turf, your footing is so freaking good…You just have such good footing and you’re hard to get on the ground. To go on the road, play on the grass and a little bit of bad environment weather. I mean, this is what the Rams are. They’re going to possess the ball, they’re going to run it, they’re going to try and win the time of possession. I just think that the Rams are built to win in some of those type of games…I think there’s a world where I don’t hate the Rams on the road in Philly and in an environment on the grass. If you put them in the two places, I think there’s a little bit of an advantage to bad weather, grass football that the Rams are better in that.”

The Rams are 2-2 on grass this year with wins against the 49ers and Vikings. However, both losses came early in the season against the Cardinals and Bears. Taking out the 41-7 win against the Cowboys in Week 17, the average margin of victory for the Eagles this season on grass has been just 5.5 points compared to 18.8 points on turf. All three of the Eagles losses have come on grass this season.

In the past, the Rams have been seen as a finesse team and that’s been mostly accurate. That was especially the case in 2021 during the Rams Super Bowl season. They ranked 29th in power success rate that year while dominating in 11 personnel and empty. While they are still an 11 personnel heavy team, they have incorporated a lot more 12 personnel this season. They are at a 13.9 percent rate this season which is three times as much as they ran last year and nearly twice as much as they did the year before in 2022.

This is a team that is not afraid to get into heavy personnel. When throwing out of 12 personnel from under center, Matthew Stafford ranks seventh in yards per attempt with a league-high 144.5 passer rating. That has allowed the Rams to get into some more play action where Stafford has also thrived.

The Rams may still lose to the Eagles on Sunday, but unlike past teams in the McVay era, they may be better suited for this type of game. Anything to give that Eagles offensive and defensive lines a slight disadvantage is big in this game. The Rams have shown an ability to win ugly throughout the season and that’s exactly what they’ll have to do to beat the Eagles.