They say NFL games are won in the trenches. That phrase is mostly true, but having an elite quarterback or a shutdown corner certainly helps, too. The Eagles may not have either (yet), but they’re still among the best teams in the NFL.

How, you ask? By winning in the trenches.

They boast one of the best offensive lines in the NFL despite being without Jason Peters, and their defensive front is even better. In fact, they have the No. 1 run defense in the NFL, having allowed 115 fewer rushing yards than any other team.

Sean McVay and the Rams are well aware of just how dominant the Eagles are up front, but that won’t make it any easier to run the ball against them on Sunday. McVay has a good grip on what makes the Eagles so good against the run.

“I think they’ve got great players, it’s a great scheme. They’ve got great get-off. You look at the way that those guys up front get off the football, they can run on all three levels, they pursue, they’re sound,” McVay said. “They play a lot of single-high structures, especially on those early down-and-distances. When you’ve got great players and you’re playing a lot of eight-man fronts and things like that, you’re going to get hats to the football.”

The Eagles do play a lot of single-high safety, which allows the second safety to come down into the box. That player is usually Malcolm Jenkins, who can play essentially anywhere in the secondary.

Loaded boxes certainly help stop the run, but McVay heaped praise on the players that the Eagles have on that side of the ball.

“I think it’s a credit to their players, their coaching staff and they mix it up, but it’s just about the effort they play with,” he added. “I think a lot of times, what measures a great defense is the way they come off the football, the way they pursue, the way that they stay sound in terms of their gap integrity and you can see why they are the best run defense in the league.”

The Eagles are allowing a league-low 68.1 rushing yards per game, while they also rank second in the league offensively running the ball (143.3 yards per game). Stopping the run and having success on the ground are two major priorities for the Rams this week.