Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles hope they’re about to make another

Foles took over for Carson Wentz and passed for 270 yards Trevon Wesco Jersey , and Wendell Smallwood rushed for two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 30-23 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night.Rookie Josh Adams also rushed for a score as the Eagles (7-7) kept their playoff hopes alive with a gritty victory over the Rams (11-3), who lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s tenure.The Eagles scored 17 consecutive points in the third quarter and then survived the Rams’ late rally. They got help from Los Angeles returner JoJo Natson, who fumbled a punt return that D.J. Alexander recovered with 2:51 to play.After Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott missed a field goal with 1:08 left, Jared Goff got the Rams to the Philadelphia 18 with 4 seconds to play �? but he couldn’t connect with Josh Reynolds on a pass to the goal line as time expired.Foles went 24 of 31 in his first game action since Week 2 in place of Wentz, who sat out with a back injury that could sideline him for the rest of the season. Foles also took over the Eagles at the Coliseum last December, relieving Wentz during a division-clinching 43-35 win and riding that wave all the way to the Super Bowl MVP award and Philadelphia’s first NFL championship since 1960.The Eagles still trail NFC East leader Dallas (8-6) and sit even with Washington (7-7), so they will need help to get back into the postseason. But they’ll get an enormous boost from this performance against the powerhouse Rams, who fell too far behind to catch up.Todd Gurley rushed for two touchdowns �? giving him an NFL-best 21 TDs this season �? while catching 10 passes 76 yards. Goff passed for 339 yards with two interceptions in the Rams’ first loss at the Coliseum this season.Philadelphia is the only team to beat the Rams twice in McVay’s two seasons in charge.The Rams already have won the NFC West title, and they still control their destiny for a first-round playoff bye with Chicago (10-4) right behind them.But Los Angeles also has produced three straight pedestrian performances since that epic 54-51 Monday night win over Kansas City last month and an ensuing bye week.Although the Rams made a 13-play scoring drive that consumed nearly half of the first quarter, Foles and the Philadelphia offense had three scoring drives in the first half, including a 75-yard march culminating in Adams’ TD run shortly before halftime.The Eagles took a 20-13 lead shortly after halftime with a two-play, 59-yard drive ending in Smallwood’s first TD run since Week 3. After a Philadelphia field goal, Goff stumbled with a snap and basically handed the ball to a rushing Corey Graham, who returned the interception to set up a drive ending in another TD run by Smallwood late in the third quarter.Los Angeles finally mounted an 84-yard drive capped by Gurley’s second TD run with 4:06 left, and the defense got a stop �? but Natson simply lost control of the ball after catching the punt and making an initial juke.Foles repeatedly connected with Alshon Jeffery Shareef Miller Jersey , who had eight catches for 160 yards. Zach Ertz had three receptions to become the fourth tight end in NFL history with 100 catches in a season.INJURIESEagles: DT Fletcher Cox went to the locker room on a cart during the first half with a hip injury, but returned to the field before halftime.Rams: Gurley missed several snaps in the second half with a knee injury, but returned. His longtime backup, Malcolm Brown, is out for the season, leaving inexperienced Justin Davis and John Kelly as Los Angeles’ only other ball-carrying options.UP NEXTEagles: Host the Houston Texans on Sunday, Dec. 23. Houston can wrap up the AFC South with a victory.Rams: Visit the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Dec. 23. LA shut out the Cardinals at the Coliseum in September. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee expects more sacks from coordinator Dean Pees’ defense.The goal is part of the defense’s anticipated overall improvement, but it’s not the Titans‘ primary focus.“We get so caught up sometimes in like, well, if a guy didn’t have a lot of sacks that he must not be playing particularly well,” Pees said. “Well, the team that led the league last year in sacks was also 31st on defense. Between me, I’d rather be eight on defense and midway in the sacks Zach Brown Jersey , just me personally. … Guys who have a lot of sacks doesn’t mean they’re playing great defense. It means they got a lot of sacks.”Tennessee had 39 sacks in 2018, tying for 16th in the NFL. The Titans would like to be better in that category.Nonetheless, Pees is more worried about the Titans doing what’s asked of them within the defensive scheme, even if that means sacrificing sack numbers. Tennessee made a few personnel changes on a defense that ranked third in fewest points allowed, eighth in fewest yards allowed and sixth against the pass in 2018.Brian Orakpo had 1½ sacks in his final season, and the Titans didn’t bring back veteran linebacker Derrick Morgan, who managed only a half-sack. Tennessee’s big offseason move came with the free agent signing of Cameron Wake who has 98 career sacks but turned 37 in January.Four-time Pro Bowl lineman Jurrell Casey led Tennessee with seven sacks, and veteran linebacker Wesley Woodyard had 4½.The Titans are also counting on some young players for an improved pass rush.Jayon Brown, going into his third season, had a career-best six sacks last season, and Harold Landry III, expected to start opposite Wake, had 4½ sacks. Linebacker Rashaan Evans, the first-round pick out of Alabama last year, missed last preseason with an injury and still is looking for his first sack and might get more chances to rush quarterbacks this season.Landry Devin Bush Jersey , a second-round pick out of Boston College last year, is up to 255 pounds after playing around 240 pounds at times as a rookie last season. He’s worked to add strength and explosiveness with the Titans hiring his old BC strength coach Frank Piraino.“I’m much more relaxed out there going into my second year,” Landry said Tuesday. “I feel like last year was a big learning experience for me. I took it to the offseason. Now I take it to OTAs. I think the game speed has definitely slowed down for me. I’m much more relaxed and much more reactionary flying off the ball. Whatever happens, I just read and react.”As for Wake, Pees said the veteran is busy learning a new defense and what the Titans want from him as a linebacker and defensive end.“They all have to improve,” Pees said. “We want to obviously increase our numbers there, but as long as we’re getting pressure on the quarterback and we’re playing well on third down, that’s the stuff that we’re really looking for.”NOTES: Rookie WR A.J. Brown left Tuesday’s session early after pulling up while working against defensive backs. The receiver was the Titans’ second-round pick out of Ole Miss in April. … The Titans have a new sand pit on the edge of their practice fields for players recovering from injuries and older players working on conditioning. Coach Mike Vrabel says he worked out with Joey Galloway a lot with both living in Columbus, Ohio, as they looked to push themselves as they became older players. “I noticed that my knees and my ankles probably got a little bit more sore than what they used to in training,” Vrabel said. “So we worked and did most of our stuff in the sand pits as we began to get a little older. … It’s just another modality for our guys to train with and try to help us.”