Green Bay gets another shot at the Philadelphia Eagles as Matt LaFleur’s squad heads to the City of Brotherly Love for Wild Card Sunday.
These teams first met in Week 1 during the NFL’s debut game in South America, where Philadelphia beat Green Bay 34-29.
Now, make no mistake: The Green Bay Packers were the best team in that game.
The Packers averaged 7.1 yards per play to Philadelphia’s 5.5 and won the turnover battle 3-1. The Packers rushed for 163 yards, outgaining the Eagles’ 144. Both teams struggled on third down, with Green Bay converting 3-of-11 and Philadelphia 4-of-14. Defensively, Green Bay recorded seven tackles for loss, while Philadelphia had five.
The story of that game was Green Bay’s self-inflicted mistakes, which cost them the opportunity to defeat a strong Eagles team.
Green Bay only scored six points on three red zone trips and converted only one of five opportunities inside the 25-yard line into a touchdown. They settled for field goals four times, leaving 19 points on the board in a game they lost by just five.
The Eagles have averaged over 25 points per game at home this season. They will move the ball and score points. Green Bay will struggle to keep pace if they settle for field goals instead of capitalizing on red zone opportunities with touchdowns.
In Week 1, Green Bay allowed 34 points with a healthy Jaire Alexander. On Sunday, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will face Carrington Valentine, Keisean Nixon, and Eric Stokes. Philadelphia’s offense led all teams in EPA per rush during the regular season and ranked top seven in EPA per play and EPA per pass. Additionally, Saquon Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season.
In Brazil, Jalen Hurts completed just 30.8% of his passes under pressure, threw one interception, and posted an 11.4 passer rating with three turnover-worthy plays. Hurts has attempted only four passes in December, so Green Bay must capitalize on any potential rust in his game.
Josh Jacobs must be Green Bay’s focal point on offense. Jordan Love is dealing with an elbow injury, and we don’t know how healthy he is going to be by Sunday. If Jacobs finds a rhythm, it will make Love’s job easier. Additionally, controlling the clock with Jacobs will keep Philadelphia’s high-powered offense off the field, preventing Barkley from getting into a rhythm and limiting Hurts’ ability to shake off the rust.
The Packers are playing with house money for the second consecutive postseason. The pressure is on Philadelphia. The Packers should play their game without focusing on outside noise. It will be a hard-fought fourth quarter, but Green Bay has a chance to leave Philly with a win.
