Rams vs. Eagles: Kyren Williams Punishes Nick Sirianni's Fourth-Down Gamble in a Week 4 Comeback

Nick Sirianni had the chip shot sitting right there. Up 10 midway through the fourth quarter, fourth-and-goal at the Rams' 2, a field goal would have made it 23-10 and put the Rams in a two-score hole with the clock bleeding. He went for it. The Rams stuffed it. Then came 98 yards, a frantic finish and one very loud Kyren Williams afternoon, and Philadelphia was left with a decision it will be replaying all week.

The Los Angeles Rams rallied from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, with Williams scoring from 1 and 7 yards out in the final four minutes. Matthew Stafford threw two first-half interceptions that turned into 10 Eagles points, then led a 98-yard drive and a 79-yard drive when it actually counted.

A First Half Built on Rams Mistakes

For 30 minutes, the Rams looked like a team still hungover from last week's collapse in Denver. Stafford's deep shot on the Rams' first series was picked by Andrew Mukuba, setting up a Jake Elliott field goal. Harrison Mevis answered from 40 to tie it, Elliott hit from 56, and after a few stalled drives, Britain Covey took a punt back 41 yards to the Rams' 17. Jalen Hurts found Darius Cooper for an 18-yard juggling touchdown two plays later, and it was 13-3.

Puka Nacua cut it to 13-10 on a 2-yard jet sweep with 1:55 left in the half. After a Philly three-and-out, Stafford gave it right back: a sack, then a deep throw out of structure that Cooper DeJean picked and returned 25 yards. Hurts hit Cooper again, this time from 10 yards, with three seconds left. Halftime: 20-10, Eagles.

The third quarter was worse for the offense. Mevis missed a 48-yarder wide left, and penalties (one on the Rams' bench) erased two explosive pass plays. Late in the quarter, Sean McVay pulled his entire offense into a huddle around him.

"Just trying to put some belief in our team," Stafford said of the message.

The message didn't land right away, and a fourth-and-8 try at the Philadelphia 36 died early in the fourth quarter. Then Philadelphia put together an 11-play, 6:45 march that reached the Rams' 2, and Sirianni rolled the dice. Stopped. The Rams took over at their own 2 with 7:26 left, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Eagles helped fuel a 10-play, 98-yard drive that Williams finished from a yard out. A Mevis kickoff out of bounds gave Philly the ball at its own 40, but the defense forced a three-and-out. From the Rams' 21, Stafford hit Nacua three times, scrambled for 8 yards and handed it to Williams on three straight snaps. The last one went 7 yards through a pile of would-be tacklers for a 24-20 lead with 1:10 left. Byron Young sacked Hurts twice on the final series, and a fourth-and-25 heave was knocked down.

Kyren Williams Smelled the End Zone

Williams was the engine all day: 16 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns, plus 10 catches for 67 yards. He described the go-ahead run like a guy who'd been waiting all game for the call.

"The play came in, outside zone, I'm like, 'say less.'" Williams said. "I can't tell you how many guys came free, but I remember one guy came free, stiff armed him, and I just smelled the end zone."

"What a gutsy, incredible run by Kyren Williams to be able to take the lead," McVay said.

Nacua, back after a two-game absence, caught nine passes for 125 yards to go with his rushing score. Stafford finished 32 of 51 for 317 yards with no touchdowns and two picks, which is exactly the kind of line you'd expect from a day he summed up perfectly: "Any way you can shoot yourself in the foot, we were doing it on an offensive side of ball."

The defense deserves the real game ball. Young finished with 2.5 sacks, Nate Landman had 10 tackles, and the unit kept giving the offense extra lives.

"That's our style of play, is to make them snap it one more time," Young said.

The Fourth Down That Flipped Philly

There were two big fourth-down stands, and both swung the game. Late in the third quarter, Landman stopped Hurts short on a tush push at the Philadelphia 38, the Eagles' signature play. Kobie Turner called that stop "a huge turn in the game." Then came the goal-line stand that kept the deficit at 10 when a chip-shot field goal would have made it 13.

Sirianni didn't hide from it.

"You go for it and you get it, great," Sirianni said. "You go for it and don't get it, that's on the head coach."

"I think a lot of teams would have folded in those situations," McVay said. "I think our defense kept giving us a reason to believe."

Numbers That Should Haunt Philly

• 0-for-12: Philadelphia on third down. Add 1-for-4 on fourth down for the full horror show.
• 172: Total yards for the Eagles, with just 68 net passing yards. Hurts went 12 of 27 for 93.
• 31-0: How badly the Eagles have been outscored after halftime over their last two games, both losses, per the AP.
• 4-0: Sirianni's record against McVay entering Sunday, per the AP. Not anymore.

Rams Exhale, Eagles Wobble

This is the win the Rams needed. A week after blowing a 16-point lead in a loss at Denver, they flipped the script and avoided a 1-3 start. They outgained Philadelphia 415 to 172, and once the offense stopped tripping over itself, the gap showed on the scoreboard. Next up is a home date with Buffalo on Monday, Oct. 12.

Philadelphia is 2-2 and losing bodies fast. The Eagles entered down six starters, and the AP reported that number climbed to 10, with Saquon Barkley hurting his right hamstring, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell injuring a knee and linebacker Jonathan Greenard leaving with an ankle injury. Now they fly to London to face Jacksonville.

"Poor execution," Hurts said. "I don't think there's any other way to put it."

McVay's Victory Lap

According to the AP, McVay celebrated the finish by skipping and sprinting along the sideline, coming close to leapfrogging Quentin Lake. It was the least Sean McVay thing and the most Sean McVay thing at the same time, like a coach starring in his own Footloose remake. After four quarters of pratfalls, he earned the dance.

"Plenty of plays where we didn't get the result we wanted," Stafford said. "But we got the result we wanted at the end of the game."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and TheRams.com.