Regeln » playing.”PROVEN PROTECTIONAlthough All-Pro d

The Los Angeles Rams put on a defensive clinic in Week 11 beating the Chicago Bears Sam Shields Jersey , 17-7. It was a much-needed win after the disappointing loss in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a very similar game.Here’s some perspective on the major outcomes as we get ready to gear up for a massive Week 12 clash on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens.InjuriesSeemingly, no big ones from yesterday. We’ll have to see when we get to Wednesday if guys were playing through some smaller stuff, but we might be looking pretty good. And of course, we’ll have to see where WR Brandin Cooks, RT Rob Havenstein and DB Darious Williams are at in their recovery.Week 11 report cardRobert Hanashiro-USA TODAY SportsThere’s also the nature of WR Robert Woods’ absence. While not an injury, Woods missed the game “due to a personal issue.” Whatever it was, here’s hoping the best for him and his family and that it’s not significant enough to keep him absent heading into Week 12.Performance IssuesThe offense here revolved around three major performances: QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley and the new look offensive line. Lets start with that last group.What a fantastic performance. With LT Andrew Whitworth the only veteran past his rookie deal (by quite a bit...) leading LG Austin Corbett, C Austin Blythe, RG David Edwards and RT Bobby Evans, this group looked very good throughout the night leading to quite a bit of praise from Sunday Night Football Analyst Cris Collinsworth.Just a fantastic night for that group. We’ll have to see if that keeps up heading down the stretch, but it surely was a welcome sign for a position group that has struggled throughout the season.Perhaps worringly then that this removed the consistent excuse the line has offered Goff on a night where he struggled for the majority of the game. While Goff looked very sharp on the final drive of the game to get a second touchdown and seal the game, prior to that he was 8/15 for just 109 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Goff did have two low-difficulty long-range strikes Aqib Talib Jersey , but the throw of the night was a rope to sideline that WR Mike Thomas dropped.As for Gurley, the quality may not have been the highest of the year, but the quantity absolutely was. His 28 touches and 25 carries were a season high by a mile. If anything, that output as a response to his lack of a single touch in the fourth quarter in Week 10 just confuses things more, but it’s been a plan of confusion from the jump for Gurley this year. Expect him to get 2 carries next week.As for the defense, it was another spectacular performance. They’re going to have their hands full next week with MVP contender Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, but they’ve played fantastically the last month-plus.StandingsWhile the Rams are still within striking distance, Week 10 didn’t offer any help. None of the top six in the conference lost with four teams picking up a win and two on the bye.So while the Rams are in striking distance, we need help from one of the two pairs in the NFC North and/or West: the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, and the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Right now, you’ve got three 6-4 teams in the playoff seeds in the AFC. Just the Rams’ misfortune that the NFC has been so strong at the top this year.The bottom line is that the Rams need to stack up wins down the stretch. A loss to the Ravens won’t drop the Rams out of contention, but unless we get help from at least one of the teams in those two duos it won’t matter. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints coach Sean Payton dismisses the premise that the Eagles could derive extra motivation from the widespread perception that New Orleans ran up the score on them when they met in November.“My question would be: We’re all playing hard in these divisional playoff games, right?” Payton began Marcus Peters Jersey , referring to Sunday’s rematch in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.“Are you going to play harder” because of a perceived slight?Still, Payton expects a more competitive affair than the Saints’ 48-7 blowout of the Eagles on Nov. 18, which gave Philadelphia the dubious distinction of becoming the first reigning Super Bowl champion to lose by that wide a margin in the following regular season.Article continues below ...The Eagles (10-7) appeared to be sinking fast when their loss in New Orleans dropped them to 4-6. But they’ve rallied to win six of seven since, including a road victory against the Los Angeles Rams that helped New Orleans (13-3) capture the conference’s top seed.“They’ve kind of been in a playoff role really going back to those games, needing to win to get in,” Payton noted. “So it’s impressive.”Now the Eagles, who opened as 10-point underdogs this week, can ruin the Saints’ Super Bowl dreams with a second straight road upset.“We’re looking forward to it,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. “We’re a completely different team than we were seven weeks ago. I don’t think the team that showed up on that Sunday is even remotely close to the team that we are right now.”Such a lopsided loss in New Orleans could have resulted in finger-pointing and a fractured locker room, Ertz suggested. Instead, Ertz said, “It was a rallying point for our season.”The Eagles survived last week’s wild-card round with a 16-15 victory in which quarterback Nick Foles — who’s won four straight starts since taking over for injured starter Carson Wentz — engineered a late scoring drive capped by a fourth-down touchdown pass. And that only stood up after Chicago kicker Cody Parkey’s “double-doink” miss on a field-goal attempt that hit both the upright and crossbar in the final seconds.Philadelphia likely will need more offense in the Superdome, where the Saints averaged 37 points in Drew Brees’ seven home starts before the record-setting QB got a rest day during the club’s anti-climactic regular-season finale.“I assume they’ll come in as motivated as ever. Just like we’re going to come in as motivated as ever Brandin Cooks Jersey ,” Brees said. “Just two really good teams about to play in a playoff game.”Some other story lines surrounding the third Eagles-Saints playoff clash since Payton and Brees joined forces in New Orleans in 2006.STARTING FASTThe Eagles have won 19 straight games when they score in the first quarter, including 7-0 this season. They scored on a field-goal drive last week in the first quarter. It’ll be even more important to score early against the high-powered Saints. New Orleans is 5-0 when leading after one quarter, 9-0 when leading at halftime and won eight times by double-digit margins.“We are starting the games better now over the last six, seven games,” Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “Defense is doing a really good job getting off the field early in the game. We’re able to get the lead.”Coach Doug Pederson has deferred the kickoff to the second half whenever the Eagles have won the coin toss. Perhaps he’ll reconsider if he wins the toss this week.RESTED SAINTSSeveral prominent Saints players haven’t played in more than two weeks. Brees, who completed an NFL single-season record 74.4 percent of his passes, and dynamic running back Alvin Kamara, who had 1,592 yards and 18 TDs from scrimmage, were both healthy scratches in Week 17.Meanwhile, two starting offensive linemen who’ve been nursing injuries — left tackle Terron Armstead (chest) and right guard Larry Warford (knee) — both sat out the regular-season finale.“Our O-line being healthy, back to pretty much 100 percent, guys are just excited Ndamukong Suh Jersey , rejuvenated and ready to play,” Kamara said.Armstead has yet to confirm he’ll be ready, but he practiced this week and said with a smile, “I feel good about Sunday.”DUMP-OFFSBoth teams are adept at using running backs as receivers. Kamara (81 catches, 709 yards) is New Orleans’ second-leading receiver behind Michael Thomas. Mark Ingram also has been effective on screens for New Orleans.Meanwhile, the Saints anticipate the Eagles to look for former Saints running Darren Sproles, who, like Foles, did not play in the previous meeting.“Darren has got incredibly good instincts on setting up some of these screens,” said Payton, who employed Sproles similarly from 2011-13. “Quite honestly, we haven’t been as good this year as we have in other years in that area, but a lot of it depends on the opponent you’re playing.”PROVEN PROTECTIONAlthough All-Pro defensive linemen Aaron Donald (20½ sacks) Dante Fowler Jersey , J.J. Watt (16) and Khalil Mack (12½) combined for 49 sacks this season, they were all held without a sack against Philadelphia.An offensive line featuring All-Pro center Jason Kelce, Pro Bowl right guard Brandon Brooks and tackles Lane Johnson and Jason Peters has held up well against their best competition. Their latest challenge features Saints end Cameron Jordan (12 sacks) and tackle Sheldon Rankins (eight).“Any time that we hear a lot about our opponent, especially the guys up front, it just seems like our guys have really embraced that opportunity and embraced the challenge,” Pederson said.Having Peters and Johnson at the tackle spots allows Pederson to let those guys man-up against opponents’ premier pass-rushers instead of using tight ends on double teams.“As a play caller it makes it a little easier because they are playing well, and they are controlling the line of scrimmage,” Pederson said. “The more guys you can put into a route, obviously, more opportunities for completions.”