Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner has his sights set on the Eagles
The Los Angeles Rams can’t have many regrets about how the team played in 2024, overachieving in the eyes of many to win a playoff game and give the Philadelphia Eagles their biggest test of the postseason. However, it was those two games against the Eagles, both losses, that has some Rams like Kobie turner looking forward to L.A.’s rematch with Philadelphia in Week 3.
Turner says that he’s dying to play the Eagles again:
Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner said on NFL Network’s The Insiders last week that he’s had the Week 3 rematch with Philly circled since the schedule came out this spring.
“I’ve had that loss in the back of my mind for a while,” Turner said. “Obviously, it’s on to a new season and on to continue to progress, but I definitely have — I believe it’s Week 3 — circled. I mean, even in the individual training right now, we’re breaking down, ‘OK, this is how some of the guys, some of the offensive linemen for the Eagles, this is how they block, and this is how we’re going to defeat that.’”
The Rams lost to the Eagles 37-20 in the regular season, allowing a season-worst 314 rushing yards to Philadelphia. The defense played much better against the Eagles in their 28-22 playoff loss on the road, but that game was covered in snow.
Despite a better performance, the Eagles still rushed for 285 yards against the Rams in the divisional round.
Turner hasn’t forgotten that.
“So, I mean, ultimately, the thing that really got us last year is there’s a couple of big runs,” Turner said. “We stopped the run for the most part, handled it really well, but a couple of those runs where we didn’t fit it up right, where Saquon was able to get to the second level fast, and he’s super dangerous there. So at the end of the day, it’s about getting Saquon down, and that’s what we’re gonna do a lot better of this year, making sure that we stop the run on the run. And you guys saw what happened when it got to second-and-long situations, third-and-long situations, guys come to life. I mean, (Jared) Verse came to life that game crazy, (Braden) Fiske came to life, and he left early.
“So I’m just super excited to be able to run that back. Obviously those guys are Super Bowl champs, they won it, they deserve it and whatnot, but this year’s a new year, and man, we definitely have that game circled, I definitely have that game circled, and I’m super excited to get another crack at those guys.”
Turner figures to be one of the L.A. Rams key players this season, hoping to take over the Aaron Donald role in some capacity by at least being a disruptive pass rushing presence in the middle of the field. However, Turner’s high sack totals won’t mean as much if the he and the Rams don’t become far more stout against the run. The Rams ranked 26th in yards per carry allowed in 2024, a mark that defensive coordinator Chris Shula must improve if he’s going to be taken seriously as a head coaching candidate in 2026.
It’s important for Turner to not overlook the Texans and Titans while he’s salivating over the Eagles. The last thing the Rams need for Week 3 is to be needing a win so desperately if they’re 0-2 because Turner couldn’t get his mind off of the Philadelphia Eagles.
