Observations: Eagles 34, Rams 28

Here’s what we saw during the Eagles’ 34-28 win over the Rams.

OFFENSE

* The Eagles’ offense struggled again for most of the game against the Rams, accounting for two touchdowns and three turnovers on the day.

* Nick Foles went 24-for-37 for 207 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He had a costly fumble in the second half where he dove head-first on a scramble and lost control of the ball.

* At the end of the first half, the Eagles put together an 11-play, 80-yard drive. Foles found Riley Cooper for a 9-yard touchdown. Cooper ran a fade and did a good job of winning a 50/50 ball against Janoris Jenkins. LeSean McCoy had runs of 19 and 7 yards on the drive. Jeremy Maclin picked up 19 yards on a bubble screen to get the Eagles into scoring possession.

* The Eagles’ only scoring drive of the second half came courtesy of a short field. Foles found Maclin for a 24-yard TD.

* Foles went 24-for-37 for 207 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Eagles ran a lot of plays that got the ball out quickly. Foles was looking for Maclin deep on the INT, but E.J. Gaines had it covered and came down with the pick.

* McCoy had 24 carries for 81 yards. Darren Sproles had seven for 51. He came up with a huge 25-yard run in the fourth quarter to convert a third down and chew clock.

* Maclin had five catches for 76 yards. Jordan Matthews had four for 35, including a nice 12-yard catch and run on third down.

* Matt Tobin had a couple issues in pass protection. One was on a stunt by Robert Quinn. Later, he was beaten cleanly on third down. Foles chucked the ball up, and Zach Ertz was able to draw a pass interference penalty.

* McCoy danced around in the first quarter and lost a fumble that gave St. Louis the ball at the Eagles’ 19. But the Rams coughed it up on their ensuing possession.

* Josh Huff saw his first action of the season and had one catch for 4 yards.

* Lane Johnson returned to the lineup. He gave up a pressure, but seemed to hold his own overall.

DEFENSE

* The defense played well in the first half, but fell apart in the second, allowing three straight touchdown drives at one point. Austin Davis went 29-for-48 for 375 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.  On the Rams’ final drive, Brandon Boykin came up with a pass breakup, and Davis threw incomplete in the face of pressure, allowing the Eagles to escape with a victory.

* On one drive in the second half, the Rams went 79 yards on five plays. Vinny Curry missed a tackle on Benny Cunningham, who found the end zone from 14 yards out. On the next drive, Nate Allen gave up a completion to Jared Cook on third down. Bradley Fletcher then did a terrible job on a 30-yard touchdown to Kenny Britt. Fletcher was called for a 24-yard pass interference penalty on the next drive. And Cary Williams gave up a 5-yard touchdown to Brian Quick.

* In the second quarter, Williams gave up a 32-yard completion to Britt. In the red zone, Davis bought time and then found Quick in front of Allen for an 8-yard touchdown. By my unofficial count, Williams has given up a pass completion of 25+ yards in three straight games.

* Trent Cole came up big in the third quarter with a sack/forced fumble. Cedric Thornton recovered for a touchdown.

* The Eagles allowed 125 yards on 23 carries on the day.

* Casey Matthews had a nice series in the first quarter. He stopped a run for no gain and then pressured Davis into an incompletion. Overall, the Eagles got decent pressure. On one play, Cole and Fletcher Cox pressured Davis, and Connor Barwin cleaned up for the sack. Barwin had two sacks on the day.

* Brandon Graham was active. He had a QB hit that led to an incompletion and later affected Davis’ throw on an incompletion. In coverage, he failed to turn around on a 22-yard completion. But he later had a tackle for a 2-yard loss. And in the second half, Graham forced a Zak Stacy fumble.

* Vinny Curry was unblocked, sacked Davis and forced a fumble in the first half. Beau Allen nearly had a sack/forced fumble, but it was ruled an incompletion.

* Special teams once again came up big. James Casey had a blocked punt in the first. Chris Maragos recovered it and scored to put the Eagles up 7-0.