PHILADELPHIA — After an atrocious first half, the Eagles rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Rams 33-26 on Sunday. The Birds’ bend-but-don’t-break defense kept them in it, and then the team opened up its offense for the first time this season.

Here are five things we learned about the Eagles in their wild win.

1. They can win myriad ways

Lincoln Financial Field erupted in thunderous roars after wide receiver A.J. Brown’s first catch of the game — an eight-yard sideline completion — just under 2 minutes into the second half. It was only his second target of the day and just his 11th this year.

Down three scores, the Eagles’ sideline intelligentsia couldn’t afford to overthink. They had to get the ball to Brown and DeVonta Smith, two of the most talented and explosive wide receivers in the league.

Brown looked like the second coming of Terrell Owens, the way he shed would-be tacklers like Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes to pick up first downs and chunks more.

Brown and Smith each scored their first touchdowns of the 2025 season. Brown had six catches for 109 yards on 10 targets; Smith had eight receptions for 60 yards on nine targets.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts also hit tight end Dallas Goedert for a 33-yard touchdown after connecting with Brown for 38 yards.

Hopefully this was a wake-up call and not a one-week thing for the Eagles coaching staff — get the ball to your playmaking receivers.

2. Jordan Davis’ conditioning is paying off

Defensive tackle Jordan Davis showed up at Eagles training camp in the best shape of his life, 26 pounds lighter and more toned. He said he felt amazing, with more energy and stamina, and he was in great spirits.

And it’s showing up this season.

Davis had the game-sealing field-goal block/touchdown return to beat the Rams. He also had five tackles, a sack and a QB pressure.

3. Jalen Carter is a trade-off

Defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who was tossed from the season opener against the Cowboys for spitting on Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott’s jersey, is a great player with zero judgment.

When will this dude learn?

Carter, 24, an All-Pro and former runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year, made a brilliant field-goal block against the Rams on Sunday and hit quarterback Matthew Stafford twice. But he also got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct — despite backup defensive tackle Byron Young trying to hold him back to prevent drawing a penalty.

4. Jared Verse hurts the Eagles

Rams second-year edge rusher Jared Verse, who grew up in Bloomsburg, performs well against the Eagles. Last season, when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year, he talked trash about the Birds before coming to Philly for the divisional playoff game in January. He taunted the crowd pregame and then backed it up with four solo tackles — three for a loss — two sacks and two QB pressures.

On Sunday, he recorded six tackles (four solo and two for a loss), a sack and a pressure. Still, the Rams lost to the Birds once again.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is 4-0 against Rams coach Sean McVay.

5. Tush push really isn’t so ‘hard to officiate’

FOX and the NFL initially tried to perpetuate their lie about the tush push. Early in the game, FOX’s Mike Pereira, former NFL vice president of officiating, repeated last week’s phrase: “It’s hard to officiate.”

But officiating offsides on the tush push is no more difficult than officiating offsides on any other play. Lead broadcaster Joe Davis rightly pointed out that you can find something on almost every play if you slow it down enough.

What percentage of times do O-lines subtly jump offsides on all other running plays? And what percentage of times do defenses line up offsides as they often do against the tush push?

Davis also repeatedly mentioned that other teams have the option of using the tush push themselves. Also, the refs missed a clear offensive pass interference call against Devonta Adams on his 44-yard touchdown reception in the first half.

By the way, the L.A. defense lined up in the neutral zone on a fourth-and-1 Eagles tush push in third quarter at the Rams’ own 11.

Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/21/5-things-we-learned-from-the-eagles-win-over-the-rams/