Week 15 Game Recap: Philadelphia Eagles 17, St. Louis Rams 16

What you need to know

Philadelphia Eagles

The balanced offensive attack that the Eagles have been promising all season actually came to fruition in this game. When the dust finally cleared, the numbers showed 56 offensive plays from scrimmage split 50/50 between pass and rush. Of course, with Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb, and now Brian Westbrook done for the season, one would expect some change.

It looked to be a big game for RB Ryan Moats. He took his first carry from scrimmage 59 yards for a touchdown, using his speed and taking full advantage of pathetic Rams’ tackling. Moats had 11 more carries for only 19 yards in the game and shared the backfield with Reno Mahe and Lamar Gordon who combined for 25 yards on eight carries. Both Mahe and Gordon were also involved in the passing game, while Moats did not receive a single target.

The Eagles’ passing attack didn’t do much to exploit St. Louis’ patchwork secondary. QB Mike McMahon recorded a meager 97 passing yards and WR Greg Lewis was the only Eagle to catch more than a pair of passes. Lewis’ four catch, 26 yard performance led the team.

St. Louis Rams

The fastest team on turf featured a run first offense in this game, utilizing both Steven Jackson and Marshall Faulk equally. The running back duo finished with nearly identical stat lines, each with 16 carries, no touchdowns and a long run of 20 yards. Faulk finished with 87 yards on the ground, a slight edge over Jackson’s 82 yard performance. Faulk also added three catches for 21 yards in the passing game while Jackson did not record a catch. Faulk’s increased role in the Rams’ offense today is likely due to two factors. First, Rams’ interim head coach Joe Vitt opted to make the game management easier for rookie QB Ryan Fitzpatrick by relying on the run. Second, Steven Jackson left the game briefly near the end of the first quarter complaining of a headache and nausea. The illness was not mentioned by game commentators for the balance of the game, but Jackson was used sparingly after that point.

The St. Louis receiving corps continues to flounder under rookie signal caller Ryan Fitzpatrick. None of the speedy wide outs have yet to record a 100 yard game in his three starts. Torry Holt did manage a trip to paydirt, but caught only three passes for 16 yards on seven targets. Shaun McDonald led the Rams with 51 yards on six catches, but most of those came in the final two offensive series with Jamie Martin at the helm. Kevin Curtis, a waiver wire savior for many fantasy teams this season, has all but disappeared in the Fitzpatrick-led offense. He recorded only one catch for seven yards in this game.

Penalties killed the Rams’ offensive production in this game. Whenever they found some momentum, a false start or holding penalty would ensue and stall their drive. They finished the game with 15 penalties for 115 yards.

What you ought to know

QB Mike McMahon, Pass: 15 - 28 - 97 - 1 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 7 - 17 - 0

McMahon spent much of the game running for his life from the Rams’ blitzing defense. He was sacked four times and seldom had time to look downfield for a receiver. He threw a costly second quarter interception deep in Eagles’ territory that led to the Rams’ single play touchdown drive. He threw two other interceptions in the game, but the Rams were unable to capitalize on either of them. McMahon finished the game with 97 passing yards on 15 of 28 completions and one touchdown.

RB Ryan Moats, Rush: 12 - 78 - 1

Moats was the Eagles’ primary back in this game, though both Reno Mahe and Lamar Gordon rotated in with frequency. On his first handoff of the game, he should have been stopped in the pile at the line of scrimmage. Four missed tackles and 59 yards later, the Eagles’ side of the scoreboard showed six points. Moats spread 11 other carries evenly throughout the game, but managed only 19 additional yards.

RB Reno Mahe, Rush: 4 - 18 - 0, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (4 targets)

Mahe typically saw the field on passing downs and caught two of his four targets for 11 yards, though he also added four carries for 18 yards on the ground.

RB Lamar Gordon, Rush: 4 - 7 - 0, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets)

Gordon was the least productive of three backs in the Eagles’ running back by committee approach. He tallied only seven yards on four carries and added one catch for five yards. His third quarter fumble was one of four Eagles’ turnovers that kept the game close.

RB Josh Parry, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets)

The fullback was targeted once and caught it for a six yard gain.

WR Greg Lewis, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (8 targets)

Lewis led the Eagles’ anemic passing attack with eight targets, four catches and 26 yards.

WR Reggie Brown, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (3 targets)

Brown’s two catch, 21 yard performance did nothing to remind fans of the departed Terrell Owens.

WR Billy McMullen, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (4 targets)

McMullen caught QB Mike McMahon’s first pass of the game for a 17 yard gain, but did little else to distinguish himself from a stable of mediocre receivers.

TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 2 - 0 - 0 (4 targets)

Smith caught one ball for two yards and another ball for negative two yards.

TE Mike Bartrum, Rec: 1 - 3 - 1 (1 targets)

For the second time this season, Bartrum turned his sole catch into a touchdown. He did a nice job in stepping in front of a defender who could have just as easily intercepted the pass.

PHI Rush Defense

The Philadelphia rush defense gave up 175 yards to a triumvirate of Rams’ running backs, but did not give up the big play.

PHI Pass Defense

The Eagles’ pass defense gave up only 127 yards through the air to Rams’ quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jamie Martin, but did nothing spectacular. They were unable to record any sacks and seldom made Fitzpatrick hurry his throws.

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, Pass: 10 - 24 - 69 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0

Fitzpatrick added another shaky start to his NFL game log, completing only ten of his 24 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. He threw off-target more often than not, though he didn’t see an unusual amount of pressure from the Eagles’ defense. He overthrew TE Brandon Manumaleuna in the third quarter for his lone interception. Jamie Martin replaced him with six minutes left in the game and the Rams down by a single point.

QB Jamie Martin, Pass: 8 - 11 - 58 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Martin entered the game with just over six minutes to play and the Rams down by one point. He showed quick decision making and made some clutch throws in the two minute drill, but wasn’t able to get his team into field goal range. Poor starting field position and costly Rams’ penalties were contributing factors.

RB Marshall Faulk, Rush: 16 - 87 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (6 targets)

Faulk saw significantly more action than usual in this game, finishing with a better stat line than the starter, Steven Jackson. He showed a few flashes of his earlier years, spinning through Eagles’ tacklers and turning nothing carries into positive yards. Faulk had a disgruntled look on his face after he failed to convert on fourth and one with about three minutes left in the game. He continued to look puzzled when Arlen Harris replaced him in the Rams’ final offensive series. Faulk finished with 87 yards on 16 carries and added 21 yards in the passing game.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 16 - 82 - 0 (1 targets)

The Rams opened the game with a huge dose of Jackson, feeding him seven times on their opening ten play drive. Jackson picked up 62 yards on that drive, but left the game near the end of the first quarter complaining of a headache and nausea. He returned a few plays later, but Marshall Faulk continued to see more action than usual and Jackson played sparingly in the second half. Jackson finished with 82 yards on 16 carries.

RB Arlen Harris, Rush: 3 - 6 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets)

Harris saw some playing time late in the fourth quarter.

WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 6 - 51 - 0 (10 targets)

Roughly half of McDonald’s production came after Jamie Martin replaced Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. McDonald finished with a team high six catches for 51 yards.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 3 - 16 - 1 (7 targets)

As his seven targets indicate, Holt is still the primary receiver in this offense with Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center. Unfortunately, three catches for 16 yards is not what his fantasy owners are looking for. Luckily, one of those went for a touchdown, salvaging an otherwise dismal performance.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (6 targets)

Bruce and his rookie quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick just don’t seem to be on the same page. Most of Bruce’s six targets weren’t catchable passes and he finished with only two catches for 16 yards.

WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

Curtis grabbed both balls thrown his way, but one was called back by penalty. His production appears to be suffering the most from his new quarterback’s ineffectiveness.

WR Dane Looker, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Looker caught his lone fourth quarter target for a four yard gain.

TE Brandon Manumaleuna (1 targets)

His only target was badly under thrown for an interception.

STL Rush Defense

The Rams’ rushing defense gave up a 59 yard touchdown to Ryan Moats on his first carry of the game. After that, they allowed only 44 yards on 19 carries to a trio of Eagles’ running backs.

STL Pass Defense

The Rams were quite successful blitzing Eagles’ QB Mike McMahon, sacking him four times and pressuring him into three interceptions. Rarely did McMahon have time to look downfield and he finished the game with only 97 passing yards and one touchdown.