The Philadelphia Eagles are heading into a Week 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams with more questions than answers after a rough start to the season.

Through 3 games under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, the Eagles offense is experiencing major growing pains. The defense just put together one of the worst showings of the Vic Fangio era. And for the first time in a long time, Philadelphia doesn’t have Jeff Stoutland to fix its offensive line problems.

The Rams, meanwhile, carry Super Bowl expectations into this one. Los Angeles was the front-runner for the majority of its game in Denver before losing in the final minutes in controversial fashion. That kind of result tends to breed desperation, and Sean McVay’s team figures to bring that edge into Philadelphia.

The Rams have had a bad track record under McVay of playing the Eagles and losing. But this Eagles team does not look great so far, and desperation this early in the season from both sides is something to watch. Neither team was expected to feel this kind of urgency in early October.

The Eagles’ path to fixing things starts with the run game

The Monday Night Football loss to the Bears was ugly for Philadelphia, but the running game actually looked the best it has all season. Saquon Barkley found a rhythm that had been missing during the first two weeks, and that matters. If the Eagles can make the ground attack a consistent part of how they grind opponents into dust (Key No. 1), that changes everything for the offense.

Getting the run game going is the first key, and it sets the table for the second: Jalen Hurts attacking the middle of the field (Key No. 2). Hurts has a long track record of avoiding throws between the hashes. In the Week 2 win against the Tennessee Titans, he showed he could do it. He pushed the ball to the middle of the field, and the offense looked multidimensional.

Against the Bears, he reverted to being afraid of that area.

If Hurts can be the multifaceted quarterback who attacks every level and pushes the ball to his talented receiving weapons, the offense opens up considerably. Dontayvian Wicks has looked the best he’s ever looked in Philadelphia and the most consistent, particularly as a ball-winner in the middle of the field.

Combine that with Hurts’ ability to throw a beautiful deep ball and an effective run game, and the Eagles can cook up something that works against any opponent, including the Rams.

The Vic Fangio factor and the anger card

Historically, Vic Fangio defenses tend to start slow. There have been plenty of Fangio fraud-watch Septembers in NFL history that turned into championship-contending units by October, November, December, and January.

Will there be a massive jump from Week 3 to Week 4? That’s wishful thinking, but Fangio’s track record suggests things could tighten up as the season progresses (Key No. 3).

There’s also the rage factor (Key No. 4). Philadelphia just lost to 38-year-old Case Keenum, who came back after not playing for three years and rushed for his first touchdown since pre-COVID times. The humiliation of watching Bears receivers run wide open while a journeyman quarterback carved up the defense could fuel something.

The real key: make it ugly (No. 5)

All of these separate threads come back to one overarching philosophy. The Eagles want to make this a dirty, ugly football game. That is the biggest key on both sides of the ball.

When the Rams haven’t looked good this season, it’s been because they hurt themselves with bad turnovers. Kyren Williams fumbled. Matthew Stafford threw a couple of interceptions, including a pick-six.

Ugliness from the Rams offense is what has allowed opponents to stay in games. On the other side, Hurts is at his best when he isn’t turning the football over. Ball control and running the football play directly to Philadelphia’s strengths.

If Jalen Carter gets after Stafford, the Eagles force a turnover or two, and Barkley keeps the ground game humming, Philadelphia has a chance. The Rams want to play a clean game, and they would gladly let the Eagles play a clean game too, because Los Angeles wins a clean game easily.

But the Eagles’ wide receiver room lacks a true identity, the offense is still searching for itself under Mannion, and Davante Adams already has 350 yards through 3 games on the other sideline — constant reminders of how much Philadelphia needs chaos on its side.

If it’s a dirty game, though, that’s how the Eagles win, especially at home.