What’s changed since the Eagles and Rams last played each other?

A closer look at this Week 12 rematch.

56 days.

That’s what separates the Philadelphia Eagles’ Divisional Round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday from these two teams previously meeting back in Week 12.

The Eagles emerged victorious in that one, blowing out the Rams by a final score of 37 to 20. Six Rams points came in garbage time with one minute left and the Eagles playing backup defenders.

While the Birds will be looking for a similar result, let’s take a look at what’s different from the last game.

• EAGLES INJURIES PRIOR TO THE GAME: The Eagles entered Week 12 missing DeVonta Smith due to a hamstring injury. He’ll be playing this time around. The team had also just placed Bryce Huff — who only played one snap during the Eagles’ Wild Card win — on injured reserve.
• EAGLES INJURIES DURING THE GAME: The Eagles notably dealt with multiple in-game injuries against the Rams. Brandon Graham suffered his (potentially) season-ending triceps injury in that one. Darius Slay was limited to 44% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps due to getting ruled out with a concussion. Reed Blankenship missed some snaps after colliding with Slay.
• EAGLES INJURIES SINCE THE GAME: Nakobe Dean is obviously now out for the season. That’s especially a shame since he played really well against the Rams. One would expect Sean McVay to go after Dean’s backup(s) in Oren Burks and/or Jeremiah Trottter Jr. The Eagles are also missing Ben VanSumeren, who logged five offensive snaps at fullback. Perhaps Khari Blasingame will be a little more involved against the Rams, assuming the Eagles temporarily elevate him from the practice squad.
• RAMS INJURIES PRIOR TO THE GAME: The Rams were mostly healthy entering Week 12 but they were missing starting right tackle Rob Havenstein and starting tight end Tyler Higbee. Havenstein is set to play this time around.
• RAMS INJURIES SINCE THE GAME: Higbee was hospitalized with a chest injury on Monday night, so, he might miss this weekend’s game. (UPDATE: Apparently Higbee is expected to play. Wow.)

Edge rusher Byron Young (not to be confused with the Eagles’ defensive tackle who has the same name) appeared to get banged up on Monday night. Young ranks third on the Rams in sacks with 7.5. Something to monitor on the injury report this week.

• THE RISE OF NOLAN SMITH: Nolan Smith has taken on a bigger role since Graham went down and he’s thrived with more playing time. Smith has produced five sacks and six TFLs in six games since the Eagles played the Rams.
• IMPROVED RAMS DEFENSE: After allowing the Eagles to produce 37 points and 314 rushing yards in Week 12, the Rams’ defense is allowing just 15 points per game and 100.5 rushing yards per game since then (excluding Week 18 when LA rested starters). Saquon Barkley, who had 255 rushing yards against the Rams, is going to test their improvement.
• HIGH CEILING, LOW FLOOR RAMS OFFENSE: While the Rams’ defense has improved, their offense hasn’t always been sharp. Their offensive point totals since playing the Eagles: 21, 44, 12, 19, 13, and 20 (excluding Week 18 when LA rested starters). The 44-point performance against the Buffalo Bills really stands out … but five out of six games with 21 or fewer offensive points isn’t super threatening. Especially with the expectation that the Eagles’ top-ranked defense should be able to limit the Rams’ damage.
• SAQUON BARKLEY’S DECLINING RECEIVING PRODUCTION: Against the Rams, Barkley had four targets resulted in four catches for 47 yards. In six games since then, Barkley has been targeted 12 times for eight catches and just 25 receiving yards. Maybe the Eagles can figure out how to get him going as a pass-catcher against the Rams.
• REST ADVANTAGE: The Eagles entered Week 12 with a mini-bye since they played on Thursday night in Week 11. The Eagles will enter this weekend’s game with another rest advantage since they played on Sunday afternoon and the Rams played on Monday night. The Rams will also have to deal with traveling from Arizona (where Monday’s game was played due to LA wildfires) to California and then to Philly this weekend. Meanwhile, the Eagles have been in Philly since returning from their December 22 game in Landover, Maryland.
• VENUE: The Eagles played at SoFi Stadium in Week 12. This time around, the Rams will be coming to Lincoln Financial Field. The Rams do not have drastic home/road splits and there were already plenty of Eagles fans at the LA game, however.
• WEATHER: The last meeting was obviously played in a dome. This time, the Eagles and Rams will be playing outdoors. Here are the projected conditions for kickoff: