opening round. White went to Tampa Bay with the No. 5 pick, and the Steelers swooped in and trade up to No. 10 — one pick ahead of the Bengals — to get Bush.The Bengals filled their biggest need as the second day of

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles‘ recent struggles aren’t providing any comfort to the Los Angeles Rams.The NFC West champions have a few problems of their own for perhaps the first time this season.With three losses in their past five games Rashan Gary Jersey , the Eagles (6-7) are facing an uphill challenge just to earn the opportunity to defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs. Their offense can’t get rolling, the defense can’t defend the pass, and quarterback Carson Wentz’s fractured vertebra sits atop a bulging list of injury problems.Article continues below ...But the Eagles’ gritty performance in a 43-35 win at the Coliseum last season is still fresh in most football minds in Los Angeles. The Rams (11-2) would never take the champs lightly heading into the teams’ Sunday night showdown.“I still look at them like a Super Bowl-caliber team,” Rams receiver Robert Woods said. “Still the defending champs. We get a chance to play them in prime time. We get to play at home. We get to play well and redeem ourselves from last week.”The Rams can’t spend any time thinking about the Eagles’ woes, either. Los Angeles is coming off a dispiriting 15-6 loss in chilly Chicago during which it failed to score a touchdown for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s tenure.McVay has never lost consecutive games, and no team has beaten the Rams twice during his two seasons — but Philadelphia has a chance to do both. The coach has no trouble getting his players’ attention this week with the combination of their second loss and a visit from the champs.Wentz did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and on Saturday was declared out for the Rams game. Wentz’s second NFL season ended at the Coliseum a year ago when he tore a ligament in his left knee, but Nick Foles relieved him and led the Eagles to that win over his former franchise, clinching the NFC East in the process.Along with his Super Bowl MVP award, Foles always has motivation against the Rams: He started 11 games for the team in St. Louis in 2015, but he asked to leave after the Rams drafted Jared Goff in the ensuing spring.“Doesn’t affect much, because Carson is a great football player, but they also were able to win a Super Bowl with Nick playing really high-level football,” McVay said.More things to watch when Mike Trout’s favorite team visits him in Southern California:DEFENDING HOMEA huge contingent of Eagles fans undoubtedly will turn out at the Coliseum, but the Rams are finally building a home-field advantage that everyone felt during their 54-51 win over the Chiefs last month. The Rams are 6-0 at the Coliseum this season after going 4-11 in their temporary arena during the first two years.HARD TO SUBOne of the overlooked challenges for defenses that have to face the Rams and their high-powered offense is the difficulty in trying to rotate defensive players into the game because Los Angeles uses the same personnel group — three receivers http://www.packersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-darnell-savage-jr.-jersey , one tight end, one running back — almost the entire game.“The Rams don’t substitute very often,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Even in short yardage and goal line, they’re in the same personnel group. It does make it a little bit more difficult to sub. We’re going to have to be surgical with our substitutions, particularly on third down.”The Eagles struggled against the Saints, who also use an up-tempo offense. New Orleans beat Philadelphia 48-7 last month.“We didn’t react very well to it against the Saints. That had to do with a lot of the big plays we gave up in that game,” Schwartz said. “But we have a little bit more experience with it now. We have to do better.”GURLEY’S GAMETodd Gurley’s 28 yards rushing in Chicago were his fewest since his rookie season in 2015, and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott edged in front of him in the NFL rushing race . McVay blamed himself for not getting the ball into the hands of his franchise running back more often, and he seems determined to rectify that oversight.Rather than testing Fletcher Cox and the Eagles’ statistically stout run defense, the Rams may be tempted to throw excessively against the Eagles’ injury-riddled secondary, which likely means more targets for Gurley in the passing game.SPREADING IT AROUNDSince receiver Golden Tate arrived in Philadelphia, coaches have struggled to incorporate him into the offense. Tate only had one catch last week and played just 20 snaps.The offense has various options, including tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.But the Eagles traded a third-round pick for Tate, so he was expected to be a major part of the game plan each week.“It’s just trying to find the right balance and get those guys in the right position so that they can make the plays we need to help us win Elgton Jenkins Jersey ,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. CINCINNATI (AP) — One of the few bright spots in Cincinnati’s offense was Joe Mixon leading the AFC in rushing last season. The Bengals put the run game front-and-center with their first two picks in the NFL draft.A day after taking left tackle Jonah Williams with the 11th overall pick, the Bengals traded down Friday and got Drew Sample from Washington — a tight end known for his blocking — in the second round.They filled their biggest need in the third round, getting linebacker Germaine Pratt from N.C. State.For the third straight year , they traded down in the second round, dropping 10 spots so Denver could move up and take quarterback Drew Lock, knowing Sample would still be available .The 6-foot-5, 251-pound tight end was a key blocker in the Huskies’ ground-based offense, which he figured could lead to him slipping to a later round. Sample caught only 46 passes with five touchdowns during four years at Washington.“I definitely took pride in being able to be a focal point in that regard,” Sample said on a conference call. “I took pride in opening holes for Myles (Gaskin) and our other running backs. That’s what I was able to do at Washington.”Cincinnati’s offense finished 26th overall last season, a year after finishing last. The passing game finished 24th in the league, with receiver A.J. Green missing seven games with a toe injury and quarterback Andy Dalton missing five with a thumb injury.Their best player on offense was Mixon, who ran for 1,168 yards with eight touchdowns. The Bengals had the running game in mind when they picked Williams and Sample.“We want to be a dominant run offense,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “These guys help us do that. They improve that ability.”The Bengals were looking to add a tight end at some point in the draft. They’ve brought back Tyler Eifert on another one-year deal after yet another injury-shortened season http://www.packersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jace-sternberger-jersey , this time with a broken ankle. Eifert has played only 14 games in the last three seasons because of back and ankle injuries.C.J. Uzomah had 43 catches for 439 yards with three touchdowns last season and got a three-year extension.The Bengals also were looking to get a linebacker — their most glaring need with Vontaze Burfict gone — in an early round. Pratt played safety his first two seasons at N.C. State and switched to linebacker his junior year. He started as a senior and finished as the ACC’s top-rated linebacker with 104 tackles and six sacks.The Bengals missed out on a chance to take either LSU’s Devin White or Michigan’s Devin Bush, the top two linebackers available in the opening round. White went to Tampa Bay with the No. 5 pick, and the Steelers swooped in and trade up to No. 10 — one pick ahead of the Bengals — to get Bush.The Bengals filled their biggest need as the second day of the draft wound down.“Doing better now,” first-year defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “We’re thrilled to get Germaine. We were coveting him early in the day and tracking him as the draft goes on.”The 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker is known for his ability to cover tight ends and receivers in the passing game, a reflection of his two seasons as a safety. Pratt played more like a linebacker at times in his first two seasons at N.C. State.“I always knew for me to be successful, I had to switch positions because I wasn’t going to be a safety,” he said.Pratt will get a chance to start, given the Bengals’ needs at linebacker. Anarumo thinks he could play middle linebacker or outside because of his versatility.“Like with every rookie, we want to see what they do well early so they don’t lose confidence,” he said.