PHILADELPHIA — Sometimes it is indeed darkest before dawn. It was for the Rams. 

It was Saquon Barkley who shut the lights, and it was the Rams who were able to turn them back on, which is why they are still alive and kicking and Sunday afternoon get another sH๏τ at Barkley and the Eagles in an NFC divisional playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. 

What transpired back in Week 12 of this season was so impactful — Barkley ran for a career-high and an Eagles’ franchise record 255 yards at Sofi Stadium — that nearly two months later, the Rams look back at that game, a 37-20 loss, and the way Barkley ripped through them as a seminal moment, as far as rising from a low point to turn around their season. 

“I think when you have humbling experiences with the right kinds of people, those are where the real growth ‘ops’ exist,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I think we had a lot of guys that really, as a team, you can look inward and you can say, ‘Is this really what we want to be about? Where are the things that we can adjust and adapt from a coaching perspective? Where’s the sense of urgency that’s going to be required for coaches and players to be able to execute the way that we want and what kind of work needs to be put in throughout the course of the week? What do we need to do? How do we want to act, interact, and respond accordingly with how we move forward?’ ”