Los Angeles Rams

RECAP: Eagles lose QB Carson Wentz, but take down Rams at crucial NFC battle

Published Dec. 10, 2017 9:14 p.m. ET

Fox Sports

It was billed as the Quarterback Battle.

And why not?

The No. 1 overall pick from the 2016 NFL Draft, Jared Goff and the LA Rams, vs. No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Carson Wentz and the Eagles.

And, for a while on Sunday, it was just that ... a battle.

But in the end, with Wentz on the bench nursing with a knee injury, Philadelphia (11-2) escaped Los Angeles on with a 43-35 victory.

https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/940026877770526720

Goff, who passed for 199 yards and two touchdowns, made a huge error at the end of the game, throwing an ill-advised pass to Tavon Austin ... which was fumbled and then recovered by the Eagles' Brandon Graham for a 16-yard touchdown.

"That's a really good team, and so are we," Goff said. "Hopefully, we can bounce back next week.

"We moved the ball around a little bit. We'd like to make a few more plays ... and we didn't. There are plenty of plays I'd like to have back."

https://www.foxsports.com/west/story/jay-glazer-nfl-on-fox-philadelphia-eagles-los-angeles-rams-121017

Wentz played brilliantly, despite throwing an interception on his second pass of the day, and ended with 291 yards passing and four touchdowns. The second-year QB also showed some nifty footwork in getting out of some jams thrown at him by the Rams' defense.

According to The Associated Press,doctors believe Wentz has torn his left anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season and playoffs.

Wentz needs an MRI to confirm the severity of the injury. Both people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Wentz was hit hard as he dived into the end zone on a play that was called back because of holding. He stayed in the game and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery four plays later to give the Eagles a 31-28 lead.

"We've got to do a better job, especially at the end of the game," said Rams coach Sean McVay, whose club moves to 9-4 in his first season at the helm.

HISTORY

This game marked just the eighth time in the Super Bowl era that quarterbacks taken No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the same draft squared off. Goff was the first pick overall in 2016, followed by Wentz. The No. 1 pick is now 5-3 in such matchups.

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PLAY OF THE GAME

The Rams scored twice in a span of less than two minutes early in the third quarter to take a 28-24 lead. The big momentum swing came when Blake Countess returned a blocked punt 16 yards for a touchdown. The punt was blocked by Michael Thomas, and the ball bounced right to Countess in stride.

Earlier, Goff capped the opening drive of the second half with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report