Eagles seek 7th straight win while Rams try to keep pace in crowded NFC West race

Philadelphia (8-2) at Los Angeles Rams (5-5)

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC/Peacock

BetMGM NFL odds: Eagles by 3.

Against the spread: Eagles 6-4; Rams 4-6.

Series record: Eagles lead 23-20-1.

Last meeting: Eagles beat Rams 23-14 in Inglewood, Calif. on Oct. 8, 2023.

Last week: Eagles beat Washington 26-18; Rams beat New England 28-22.

Eagles offense: overall (5), rush (1), pass (22), scoring (7).

Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (7), pass (2), scoring (6).

Rams offense: overall (17), rush (26), pass (T-7), scoring (21).

Rams defense: overall (23), rush (18), pass (22), scoring (22).

Turnover differential: Eagles plus-2; Rams plus-4.

RB Saquon Barkley. Barkley combined for 198 scrimmage yards and two scores, rushing 26 times for 146 yards (5.6 average) while adding two receptions for 52 yards against Washington. With 1,137 rushing yards through 10 games, Barkley only trails Baltimore’s Derrick Henry for the NFL lead. He had his sixth 100-plus yard rushing game this season, which is the most in the NFL.

S Kam Kinchens. The rookie third-round pick from Miami had eight tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception and a forced fumble against the Patriots as he continues to come on strong. Kinchens has three picks in the past three games.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts vs. Rams’ defensive line. Hurts shredded Los Angeles for 303 yards passing and 72 yards rushing last season despite the presence of superstar DT Aaron Donald. After Donald retired, the Rams turned to a committee approach to get after the passer, and it has worked with rookie OLB Jared Verse and DT Braden Fiske fitting in well next to second-year OLB Byron Young and DT Kobie Turner. But they can only unleash their excellent pass rush skills by limiting Philadelphia on early downs. Hurts has been at his dual-threat best over the past five games, accounting for 15 total touchdowns (six passing, nine rushing) against two turnovers.

Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff had surgery on his left wrist on Thursday, a move that could allow him to return toward the end of the season. ... WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and DT Milton Williams (foot) each missed practice this week. … Rams RT Rob Havenstein (ankle) looks to be trending toward a return this week. Havenstein sat out the previous two games because of the ailment.

The Eagles have won all three games in Los Angeles since the Rams moved back in 2016. … Overall, Philadelphia has won seven of the past eight. The only setback came in Week 2 of the 2020 pandemic season.

Barkley has passed 100-plus scrimmage yards in eight of 10 games. That is tied with LeSean McCoy (2011) and Brian Westbrook (2007) for the most by an Eagle through 10 games. His 198 yards were his second most as an Eagle (199 in Week 9). ... The Eagles have allowed two passing touchdowns during their winning streak. Only one opponent has topped 200 passing yards against them in this stretch, with Cincinnati throwing for 222 in Week 8. ... Hurts leads all NFL quarterbacks with 11 touchdown runs and is second only to Henry's 13 scores for the Ravens. ... WR A.J. Brown leads the league in receptions of 30 yards or longer. He is averaging 18.7 yards per catch, the best mark of any player with at least 30 grabs. ... Even before he hurt his wrist, Huff struggled in his first season in Philadelphia with just 2 1/2 sacks and four quarterback hits. His snap count has dipped since he was injured ahead of a game earlier this month against Jacksonville. Huff had 17 1/2 sacks in four seasons with the Jets before he signed a three-year, $51 million free-agent deal with the Eagles. … Philadelphia has run for at least 150 yards and two touchdowns in five straight games, something it hadn't accomplished since 1949. ... Rams WR Puka Nacua caught his first touchdown of the season in New England. He has at least seven receptions and 98 yards in three of his past four games, with only a second-quarter ejection in Seattle having limited Nacua since he returned from a knee injury. … WR Cooper Kupp has 614 receptions through his first 98 games, which is fourth most in NFL history through 100 games. Julio Jones (619) is third. … RB Kyren Williams averaged a season-high 5.7 yards per carry, finishing with 86 yards on 15 attempts versus the Patriots. … Verse has 11 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks through his first 10 games. Verse is pressuring the quarterback on 20.2% of pass rush snaps, which ranks second in the league overall. … The Rams were 2 of 8 (25%) on third down against New England, their third straight game converting 25% or worse. … QB Matthew Stafford has not been sacked in each of Los Angeles’ past three wins.

Don’t be discouraged using Stafford, Kupp and Nacua against Philadelphia's pass defense. All three put up solid fantasy numbers in last season’s meeting, even as the Eagles sat on the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Stafford had 222 yards and two scores, finding Kupp eight times for 118 yards and Nacua seven times for 71 yards and a touchdown, so they'll find ways to produce.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) eludes New England Patriots cornerback Marco Wilson (22) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) runs past Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) for a first down during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a pass against the New England Patriots during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores past Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A ban on New Zealanders wearing or displaying symbols of gang affiliation in public took effect on Thursday, with police officers making their first arrest for a breach of the law three minutes later.

The man was driving with gang insignia displayed on the dashboard of his car and was among more than a dozen people arrested or summoned to appear in court for exhibiting such symbols since the law took force, New Zealand’s police said Friday.

The prohibition on displaying gang insignia anywhere outside private homes, including on clothing or in vehicles, is among a suite of new measures intended to bolster police powers to disrupt the groups. Wearing or displaying the insignia of 35 listed gangs will now prompt a fine of up to 5,000 New Zealand dollars ($2,940) or up to six months in jail.

New Zealand’s center-right government, which pledged ahead of last October’s election to tackle gang crime, says the measures will reduce the membership of groups responsible for violence and drug offenses. But detractors say the law breaches civil liberties and could drive gang activities underground.

"Gangs aren’t community groups. They’re not a Rotary club," Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote on social media Thursday. “They thrive on destroying the lives of other New Zealanders, whether that’s by peddling drugs or through brutal acts of violence that leave communities in fear.”

Under the new law, officers can also disperse public gatherings of three or more members, bar some gang affiliates from associating with each other, and enter homes of those who keep breaking the law to search for banned items. Gang membership will now be considered by the courts when sentencing offenders.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told reporters Thursday that two people were arrested hours after the law took effect for wearing gang “patches,” which are large insignia often worn by gang members on the backs of leather jackets or vests. The government says the patches are intimidating because members are required to earn them through violent acts.

The measures shift New Zealand's response to gangs closer to that of neighboring Australia, which also uses a law to suppress the public visibility of gangs, and away from jurisdictions like the U.S. and Britain, which use criminal law to respond to specific activities carried out by organized crime groups, according to a report published by Treasury officials in February.

Facial tattoos that display gang insignia are exempt from the ban, as is the wearing of gang colors. The government was criticized by some for not including white supremacist groups in its list of 35 organizations targeted by the new law. That means displaying swastikas and making Nazi salutes remains legal in New Zealand -– unlike in Australia, which banned both in a law that took effect in January.

There are nearly 9,400 people on a New Zealand police list of known gang members. New Zealand’s population is 5 million.

Successive governments have vowed to tackle criminal gangs, which often are linked to poverty and other deprivation. The previous center-left government was decried by Luxon’s administration for working with gangs on social initiatives, including COVID-19 vaccination efforts, while the current government has been denounced for advancing policies that are likely to ensnare some of New Zealand’s most marginalized groups, including Indigenous Māori.

Official reports say three-quarters of those on the national gang list are Māori, who make up less than 20% of New Zealanders, and that 80% to 90% of those in two of the most notorious gangs are former wards of the state.

Luxon made a formal apology this month for the widespread abuse of children and vulnerable adults in state care over the past seven decades.

Members of patched gangs gather before marching to parliament during a protest against a proposed law that would redefine the country's founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown, in Wellington, New Zealand, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Tantrum)