The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles played a defensive struggle that went down to the final play. Unfortunately, Green Bay fell short and lost the game, 10-7. Kicker Brandon McManus came on to try a 64-yard field goal as time expired, but it was not close, and the Packers fell short. The offense was never able to sustain drives and scored just seven points, the lowest total for the Packers since Week 1 of the 2021 season. The loss drops the Packers record to 5-3-1 while the Eagles improve to 7-2. Here are 10 things we learned from the Packers 10-7 loss to the Eagles in Week 10:

Ten Things We Learned from the Packers 10-7 Loss to the Eagles in Week 10, Number One: The Defense Contained Saquon Barkley

The Packers defense stopped the running of Saquon Barkley in this game. Barkley finished the game with 60 yards on 22 carries. That’s an average of just 2.7-yards per attempt. His longest run was 15 yards.

The run defense rallied to the ball and managed to not be overwhelmed by the Eagles strong offensive line.

Even when the Eagles had the lead and were trying to run with Barkley to close out the game, the Green Bay defense forced a turnover on downs and gave the offense one more chance to at least tie the game.

The most successful runner for the Eagles was quarterback Jalen Hurts, who averaged 5.4 yards per carry while picking up 27 yards on five runs.

By limiting the Philadelphia rushing attack, the defense helped keep the team in the game despite the offense’s lack of production.

Number Two: The Offense Never Really Got into a Rhythm

While the defense did its job, the offense never really got into a rhythm. On a cold, blustery night at Lambeau Field, the offense was never able to get on track.

For the game, the Packers gained only 261 yards. They punted five times, lost the ball on fumbles twice, turned it over on downs once, and missed a field goal on the final drive. That left just one scoring drive which came in the fourth quarter when already down 10 points.

The offense just never seemed to get on track on a consistent basis and the play calling never adjusted to what was happening on the field.

Ten Things We Learned from the Packers 10-7 Loss to the Eagles in Week 10, Number Three: Turnovers Were Costly

The Packers lost two fumbles and that proved costly. The first came on the final possession of the first half. Quarterback Jordan Love tried to throw the ball away as he was being pressured but the ball was knocked out of his hands before he threw the ball, and it was ruled a fumble. The Packers drive ended at the Eagles 27.

The second fumble came at the Green Bay 44 with less than two minutes left. Josh Jacobs fumbled on a fourth-down try and the Eagles recovered it. The Packers were penalized for illegal formation, so even if the play had succeeded, it would have been erased. That gave the Eagles the ball back with 1:26 left in the game.

In a close game, those two turnovers proved very costly.

Number Four: Play Calling Remains a Problem

The play calling remains a problem for the Packers offense. On a cold and windy day, emphasizing the run, even if it wasn’t working exceptionally well, made sense.

But the Packers offense never went up-tempo or used short, quick passes to get the ball moving consistently.

The decision to run the ball out of the shotgun on 4th-and-1 late in the game made little sense. It may have been an attempt to surprise the defense, but they not only read the play well, but stuffed it and caused a turnover.

Making in-game adjustments to the play calling and finding something that works has been an issue for head coach Matt LaFleur this season. It needs to be fixed, or the Packers will struggle to win games against the tougher opponents on their schedule in the second half of the season.

Ten Things We Learned from the Packers 10-7 Loss to the Eagles in Week 10, Number Five: The Pass Rush Was Limited

Opposing teams seem to be figuring out how to neutralize the Packers pass rush. Against the Eagles, the Packers did not record a sack or even a quarterback hit.

There were times when Micah Parsons got some pressure on Hurts, but teams have learned if they release the ball quickly, they can have some success with the short passing game and limit the impact of the pass rush. It will be up to Jeff Hafley to introduce a counter strategy.

Number Six: A Few Big Plays Hurt the Defense

The Green Bay defense didn’t allow many big plays, but the few they did proved costly. The Eagles lone touchdown drive was keyed by two big plays. The first was a short pass to Barkley that gained 41 yards. That set up a 36-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith on the next play.

Those two big plays made the difference in the game. Besides those two explosive plays, Philadelphia had just one play all game that gained more than 20 yards.

Ten Things We Learned from the Packers 10-7 Loss to the Eagles in Week 10, Number Seven: The Running Game Never Got on Track

The Packers running game never really got going in this game. Jacobs ran 21 times for just 74 yards, a 3.5-yard average. Jacobs’ longest run went for 11 yards. He scored the team’s only touchdown with an impressive carry in the red zone.

LaFleur kept emphasizing the run and the long pass but established neither for most of this game. The run blocking needs to be better going forward as the weather gets colder.

Number Eight: Key Injuries Hurt

The Packers suffered two more injuries in this game that could be costly. Center Elgton Jenkins went down with an injury when someone rolled over his leg. He did not return. Sean Rhyan was inserted into the game to replace him with mixed results.

Romeo Doubs also left the game early and did not return. The Packers are already thin at wide receiver with Matthew Golden out of the lineup. Bo Melton stepped in and took snaps at wideout, and Dontayvion Wicks also saw more snaps.

The absence of Doubs and Tucker Kraft cost Love his two most reliable short receivers in a game where they really could have helped given the weather conditions and the opponent.

Ten Things We Learned from the Packers 10-7 Loss to the Eagles in Week 10, Number Nine: Don’t Blame Brandon McManus

Yes, McManus missed the tying field goal. He actually missed it twice although the first time it was moot as the Eagles called timeout before the snap to ice the kicker.

The miss came from 64 yards out. That would have been the longest field goal in Lambeau Field history. Given the cold and windy conditions, it was not a kick you would expect McManus or any kicker to make.

That being said, the odds of McManus making this kick were higher than the odds of a Hail Mary working, so LaFleur made the right choice on at least trying the field goal on the game’s final play.

Number 10: Time to Regroup

The Packers have now lost two straight games at Lambeau Field, something they don’t do often. They have a tough schedule ahead in the second half including five more divisional games.

First, they travel to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants who just fired their head coach, Brian Dabol, on Monday.

This is now a must-win game as the Packers cannot afford to lose three straight games. They have now fallen out of first place in the tight NFC North division race.

This needs to be a get-well game for the Packers who just can’t seem to play to their potential lately.

 

 

 

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