Eagles @ Rams Week 5 Game Preview
Jonathan Fuller previews the Week 5 matchup between the Eagles and Rams from a betting perspective.
Philadelphia Eagles @ Los Angeles Rams
The Rams welcome the undefeated Eagles to Sofi Stadium for one of the more exciting matchups of Week 5.
It should be scary for the rest of the NFL that the Eagles have started the season unbeaten despite things not quite clicking on offense to the same degree they did last year.
As the above chart shows, the Eagles have been one of the league’s most efficient rushing attacks. This is further evidenced by the fact that D’Andre Swift is head and shoulders above all other running backs in terms of rushing play success rate.
Swift should be locked into lineups and is on the RB1/RB2 borderline in the Fantasy Life consensus ranks for Week 5.
Of course, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are every week starters but fantasy managers are understandably starting to get nervous about Dallas Goedert who has failed to reach 10 PPR points in any game so far this season.
In managed leagues, you likely have to stick with Goedert but his popularity in DFS and Battle Royale contests is declining sharply which will make him a really nice leverage play when he finally does have a big game. I’m not saying it will be this week, but if you have the courage to play him, it should pay off nicely when he finally hits.
The Rams are just 2-2 on the season but things have gone better than expected with the emergence of Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams to complement a healthy Matthew Stafford.
They are close to getting star WR Cooper Kupp back from injury which should give a lift to an offense that is already 8th in EPA per play on the season.
We won’t know exactly how the offense will change with Kupp back but it seems like a safe bet that the other WRs will see their targets dip, but with the potential to offset that with better efficiency and more scoring opportunities.
Nacua still slots in as a low-end WR1 in the Fantasy Life consensus rankings this week, but the range of outcomes is wide in a more crowded passing attack.
It’s a difficult matchup for Kyren Williams on the ground this week and with an explosive Eagles offense on the other side, we may see the Rams forced into more of a pass-heavy game script.
Williams can still deliver solid fantasy value in a game where the Rams pass a lot thanks to his 14% target share on the season. HC Sean McVay has said he wants to get other backs more involved, but this doesn’t seem like the week to do so in a very tough matchup as the Rams try to keep pace in their division.
This game has the second-highest point total of the week so there is definitely a chance we see plenty of players deliver ceiling performances in this one.