Mailbag: Who would benefit more from a snow game, the Eagles or Rams?

With the Philadelphia Eagles set to take on the Los Angeles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs on Sunday, it's a good time to answer some questions, solicited from readers on Twitter, Bluesky, and Threads. This will be Part I of a two-part mailbag.

Question from @fandru (via Bluesky): Your guess, which team will benefit from 3 or more inches of snow falling on the field? I'm thinking the better offensive line and running game benefits?

Philosophically, I have always felt that poor weather can serve as something of an equalizer, and that the better team should be hopeful for normal conditions. The inferior team should welcome more variables that can affect the outcome of the game. So, if you're of the opinion that the Eagles are the better team, then philosophically, advantage Rams.

But in this case, it's hard to see many tangible advantages for the Rams in snowy weather.

• Rushing attacks

As you mentioned, the run game would have heightened importance. The Eagles finished 2nd in the NFL in rushing, with 178.7 rushing yards per game. The Rams finished 24th, with 103.1 rushing yards per game.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles finished 9th in run defense, allowing 104.3 rushing yards per game. The Rams finished 21st, allowing 128.7 rushing yards per game. The two teams' rushing yard differentials (regular season + playoffs):

The difference between the Eagles' and Rams' rushing yard differentials is 1800 yards.

But also, when you look at each teams' personnel, Saquon Barkley is 6'0, 233 and he's running behind a massive offensive line that averages 337.6 pounds per man. Meanwhile, the Rams' starting defensive line is very light:

• EDGE Jared Verse: 6'4, 260
• DT Braden Fiske: 6'5, 295
• DT Kobie Turner: 6'3, 288
• EDGE Byron Young: 6'2, 250

Rams running back Kyren Williams is 5'9, 202, and he's running behind an offensive line that averages 315.0 pounds per man. Williams is not a pile mover, and power running isn't the Rams' M.O.

Massive advantage, Eagles.

• Comfortability in the cold

The Eagles have been practicing and playing games in the cold for two months. The Rams have no real way of preparing for the cold in L.A., and they have only played in one cold-weather game this season, a Week 16 win over the Jets. The Rams trailed the Jets in the fourth quarter of that game, and yet they ran it 28 times (not including kneeldowns) vs. 19 pass attempts. Matthew Stafford was 14 of 19 for 110 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.

Their gameplan was to play conservatively, likely because of the colder conditions.

• Poor footing could affect the edge rushers

Remember in the Super Bowl when a major Eagles' strength (their pass rush) was neutralized by an unacceptably slippery field? Well, the best thing the Rams have going defensively is their pass rush with their front four.

You could make the point that the Eagles' elite offensive line doesn't really need that advantage, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree. However, if Jalen Hurts is going to hold onto the ball for an eternity, then any extra advantage the Eagles get in protecting even longer will be welcomed.

Question from @thenoid (via Bluesky): Forecasted snow: Good for a struggling Jake Elliott (lots of 4th down go for it and 2-pt attempts, so less pressure) or bad (way higher degree of difficulty if he does have attempts, and fewer chances to kick his way out of the slump?)

Above we noted the Eagles' advantages in a snow game. But this question made me realize an advantage for the Rams. Sean McVay is a coward when it comes to fourth down "go for it" decisions, and the snow might prompt him to go for it in situations that call for it when he might wrongly kick a field goal in normal conditions.

• MORE EAGLES
• Rams' rookie Jared Verse tells LA paper ‘I hate Eagles fans’
• Experts seem pretty confident Eagles will advance to NFC Championship
• Eagles-Rams Divisional Round injury report, with analysis

(I realize this doesn't actually answer you question. Sorry.)

Question from @brian_pagano: Are the Eagles considering any contingency plans for Elliott if he continues to struggle?

Yes. I mean, they always have contingency plans at every position. They have a ranked list of available kickers ready to call should Elliott get hurt, and surely they've at least discussed contingency plans if, you know, he goes, like 0/4 in a game or something and just isn't viable anymore. But I still think we're a pretty long ways away from the Eagles making a change there.

Question from @Cumbleton: How well can Jeremiah Trotter step in to play? Does he definitely start?

I don't know if he'll start or if it'll be Oren Burks, but he's going to get some meaningful playing time in this game, it appears.

Trotter isn't big or an elite athlete, but he has instincts. That profile of player mirrors guys like Nakobe Dean and T.J. Edwards. It took a while for Dean and Edwards to become the players that they became, so there could be some initial growing pains. We'll see how it goes on Sunday.

Question from @RickP25057744: What are the chances that Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean ever take the field together again?

Well, Baun is a free agent this offseason, as we're all aware. Dean is schedule to be a free agent in 2026, and there's a chance he may miss the entire 2025 season. So, uh, decent chance, I guess.

Question from @DrNick513: If Howie pays a running back and a linebacker in back to back offseasons, how many people’s heads will explode?

I've always felt that the idea that the Eagles "PAID" a running back was a little overblown. In terms of resource allocation, they didn't spend a draft pick on Barkley, and his 3-year, $39 million deal was the same compensation that guys like Gabe Davis and Darnell Mooney got in free agency last offseason.

I do think they're going to have to pay a little more than they're typically comfortable paying at linebacker with Baun this offseason if they really want to keep him.

Question from @ChipReiderson: Tio Jimmy. Reverence as always. Don’t you think for optics alone (I feel like such a tool for using “optics”) the NFL wouldn’t have sent Shawn Smith to work this game after that mess in DC 4 weeks ago?

Yeah, if you'll all recall, Smith is the guy who ejected C.J. Gardner-Johnson for saying mean things to Commanders players Week 16. His crew also didn't flag LB Frankie Luvu for spearing Jalen Hurts, and as Rob Tornoe the Inquirer pointed out this week, Smith also officiated the Eagles-Seahawks game when Jadeveon Clowney speared Carson Wentz, knocking him out of the game with a concussion:

“He was a runner, and he did not give himself up,” Smith said to a pool reporter following the game. “We saw incidental helmet contact, and in our judgment, we didn’t rule that to be a foul.”

Tornoe also pointed out that the Eagles are 5-2 lifetime in games officiated by Smith, so 🤷‍♂️.

Question from @bigseb31213: From the Eagles perspective, who would be some of the best and worst coaching hires the Giants and Cowboys could make?

The Giants already did the worst thing they could possibly do, which was to retain Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen for another season, which we laid out here. The funniest hire the Cowboys could make would be Jason Witten, who really came off as a dummy during his short stint as a TV color commentator.

Question from @ViolationsGreg: Your favorite David Lynch film?

Blue Velvet. But also, I liked him as an actor, and he was in one of my favorite scenes in any series, when he appeared in Louie.

"You just bought yourself another week" makes me legit lol every time I watch that.

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