The Eagles have the tape from the Rams game back in Week 12, and they'll use it to prepare, but they can only lean on it for so much now.
That late-November night back in L.A., which the Eagles took in a 37-20 win, that was a while ago.
Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, that's going to be something else, even though many of the pieces will still be the same.
"I think every game is its own game," quarterback Jalen Hurts told the media at the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday. "So obviously we're gonna look back at the tape and look at this team."
But, Hurts added, "This team is different than what it was."
Though maybe the Eagles are, too.
"It means nothing," star receiver A.J. Brown said of the tape. "It means absolutely nothing. It's a new game. They're playing different football. We're playing different football at this moment, so it comes down to making plays."
It just won't be a totally clean slate either. At this point in the year, it's hard for it to be.
That first matchup in L.A., superstar running back Saquon Barkley took off for an Eagles franchise-record 255 rushing yards, and to the sound of "M-V-P!" chants from a heavy Midnight/Kelly Green contingent within SoFi Stadium. That's something for the Rams defense to worry about.
Brown is a concern for them, too. Last time, Hurts only threw 22 times, completing 15 of them for 179 yards, but Brown caught six of them for 109 yards and a touchdown.
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The Eagles' passing game against the Packers in the Wild Card last week, in Hurts' return from a concussion after nearly a month away, underwhelmed. It looked out of sync, Hurts threw for just 131 yards on 13-for-21 passing, and Brown only saw three targets for a single reception and 10 yards – did make "Inner Excellence" a bestseller though.
The Eagles won to move on, but left with their air attack as a glaring area for improvement in the week ahead.
Brown, however, told the media at his locker on Wednesday that he wasn't all that worried about it getting fixed. They've done it before, and usually to great results immediately after a downswing.
"It's the players in this locker room, the coaching staff," Brown said of what inspires his confidence. "We've done it before, so it's not too far. It's not like it's never been done. We just gotta do what we gotta do."
And his belief is supported by the wins over the Panthers and then the Steelers at home several weeks ago.
Against Carolina, the Eagles just barely got by, but the passing game behind Hurts looked concerning. He could only swing 14 completions for 108 yards, and looked Brown's way just four times, to which afterward, the receiver struggled to hide his frustration over.
It was a contentious storyline all week, but then they came out against the Steelers, who at the time appeared to be one of the AFC's better teams, and lit them up. Hurts went 25-for-32 passing for 290 yards and got to Brown right away, all while Brown caught eight of his season-high 11 targets for 110 yards and a score.
Hurts, Brown, the Eagles, they can adapt quick under fire. They've shown it, which is a big part of why they won 12 of their last 13 games to close out the regular season, including against the Rams.
But L.A. has adapted, too. Behind veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and a rapidly developing pass rush on defense, the Rams won five of their last six since facing the Eagles to take the NFC West title, and then they upset the 14-3 Vikings in the Wild Card Round with a staggering nine sacks of their QB Sam Darnold.
And they have their tape, too, though they're coming to Philadelphia now, and with snow potentially in the forecast. They can only lean on that for so much.
It's a different ballgame now, with the right to go on to the NFC Championship Game on the line.
"We'll see," Hurts said of what he's expecting from the Rams' gameplan. "I don't really know what they're gonna do. It's a great team, and I think even Green Bay kind of did some different things that we weren't expecting as an offensive unit.
"That's the playoffs. Gotta be ready for everything."
Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
Saquon Barkley was a runaway train against the Rams Week 12.
But about Barkley…
Barkley torched the Rams to a historic degree back in Week 12 on the way to a historic individual season for any Eagle.
Opposing defenses have tried to stop him, even sold out completely on doing it at the risk of everything else, but between Barkley and the strength of the offensive line in front of him, they've consistently failed.
He tagged the Rams for 255 yards a couple weeks ago.
Last week against the Packers, he racked up 119, with the chance to break off for a big scoring run late before opting to take the slide at midfield instead to run out the clock and seal the win.
The Rams are going to try again to stop Barkley this Sunday, but the keyword for Hurts when he sat down with the media on Wednesday was "try."
"I don't think there's been a game where he's been taken away," Hurts said of Barkley.
"Right but they try to," the reporter who tossed out the initial question followed up.
"Yeah…they try," Hurts responded.
"He's a great player, you know?" Hurts continued. "And I think we compliment each other well. He's been able to jsut get dirty yards, dirty yards, dirty yards, and soon enough he pops one off. That's been a big part of our success this year as a team, and that's a credit to everyone playing a role in that – blocking out wide, holding backside players off of the fake, a down block or a pull, the identification up front and everyone being on the same page, it's a collective effort."
One that the Rams couldn't stop the first time, and will have their work cut out for them if they hope to stop it again.
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