The Philadelphia Eagles are moving on to the NFC divisional round after a 22-10 wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The Eagles’ No. 1-ranked defense (by yards allowed) controlled the physical affair as Vic Fangio’s unit pitched a shutout until six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Philadelphia finished with four takeaways, one of which came on special teams, and forced Packers quarterback Jordan Love into uncomfortable throws all game as he threw three interceptions.
The largely ineffective Eagles offense relied heavily on star running back Saquon Barkley once again, handing him 25 carries. For the 12th time this season, Barkley finished with 100-plus rushing yards.
If the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night, Philadelphia will face Washington for the third time this season. If Tampa wins, the winner of Monday’s wild-card game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings will determine Philadelphia’s NFC divisional matchups. Either way, the Eagles have at least one more home playoff game in front of them.
Saquon and the Eagles move on in the #NFLPlayoffs #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Y5ayMRgpXb
— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2025
Eagles’ ugly day on offense
At first this looked like it was going to be a blowout. Oren Burks forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. Three plays later, Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson for an 11-yard touchdown. The Eagles’ defense forced consecutive punts, and Jake Elliott’s 31-yard field goal gave them a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Then, the Eagles offense stagnated. Hurts looked dreadful. His struggles included an 0-for-7 slump that lasted until late in the third quarter. Green Bay pulled within 10-3 by that time. But, on a third-and-3 situation, Hurts rolled out and struck a wide open DeVonta Smith for a 28-yard gain. Hurts went 3-for-3 on the drive, aided by tight end Dallas Goedert, who stiff-armed his way to a 24-yard touchdown that put the Eagles back up two scores. Overall, it was an ugly day offensively.
Elliott, who missed a PAT attempt earlier in the game, was able to put the game on ice with a 30-yard attempt with 7:36 remaining — but only after the Eagles backed themselves up with two holding penalties. Not a good look for an offense with every usual starter available. Perhaps there was indeed some rust with Hurts returning after missing two games in concussion protocol. They’ll obviously need to be more productive to realize their Super Bowl potential. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
Nakobe Dean’s knee injury looms large
The NFL’s top-ranked defense are the main reason the Eagles are still alive in the postseason. They intercepted Love three times. But the Eagles failed to score after any of them. They held the Packers scoreless in the first half. Yet Philadelphia’s offense couldn’t create more distance. They protected their red zone, holding the Packers to a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter. Then, they effectively ended the game by forcing a turnover on downs with 4:58 left in the game. But the dominance came at a cost.
Starting linebacker Nakobe Dean was carted off the field in the first half and was quickly ruled out with a knee injury. Dean, the Mike linebacker, is one of the leaders of this defense, the linebacker with the green dot who calls each play and gets the defense aligned.
If Dean is lost for the playoffs, he will not be easily replaced. Burks entered the game for Dean. Packers running back Josh Jacobs later recorded a 31-yard rush, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run. The Eagles had only surrendered three 30-plus-yard runs in the regular season. — Kubena
Eagles need a spark to make a deep run
The Eagles were the beneficiaries of a fumble on the opening kickoff that immediately turned into seven points. They can’t afford to experience similar offensive ruts when facing the NFC’s other powers — especially if they meet the Detroit Lions in the conference championship game.
Perhaps the solution is simply getting Hurts back in practice with the fullness of the offensive roster available. Much of the success of this season can be credited to this team’s defense. This season will end soon if they’re continually left hanging. — Kubena
Required reading
(Photo: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
