Nacua Returns. Donald Sits. The Rams Head to Philly Uneven.

Puka Nacua is active Sunday against the Eagles, ending a stretch that had Adams and Smith absorbing the bulk of the passing work. His return gives Stafford back the top target in the offense — 2,047 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, the kind of production that changes what a defense has to account for on every snap.

The other side of the ledger is less encouraging. Aaron Donald has been ruled out with back soreness, the same issue I noted earlier this week when he was listed as questionable. That's now a firm absence against a Philadelphia offense that will test the interior of the Rams' defensive line. Braden Fiske and the rest of that group will have to manage without the player the front office brought back specifically to anchor this unit.

The Rams have been a different team on the road — 5-4 away from home last season versus 7-1 at SoFi — and they've had trouble in close games when execution gets tight. Playing in Philly without Donald is the kind of situation where both of those tendencies can surface at once. Nacua being back helps. It doesn't fix the defensive math for Sunday.