The Green Bay Packers made too many mistakes, suffered too many injuries and were outplayed by a better team in their 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card round. The defense fought hard to keep the team in the game, but in the end, the offense was unable to sustain enough drives and the Packers fell short. The loss ended the Packers season a week earlier than their season ended last year. Here are 10 things we learned from the Packers 22-10 loss to the Eagles in the Wild Card playoff round:
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Loss to the Eagles, Number One: Another Slow Start Hurt
The Packers would have benefitted from a quick start to this game. It would have quieted the crowd a bit and if they sustained it, forced the Eagles to pass more than they wanted to while leaving the Packers free to center their offense around Josh Jacobs.
Unfortunately, the Packers did the exact opposite. Keisean Nixon tried to return the opening kickoff and was hit hard by former Packers linebacker Oren Burks. Nixon fumbled and the Eagles took over at the Packers 28.
On replay, it clearly looked like Nixon recovered his own fumble before several Eagles players fell on him. When the players were eventually unpiled, the Eagles had the ball.
Replay assist did not change the call on the field.
Three plays later, the Eagles scored a touchdown and led 7-0. They never trailed after that point and the Packers had to fight and claw to try to get back into the game.
Number Two: Injuries Hurt the Offense Badly
The Packers suffered too many key injuries in this game, especially on offense. When you combine the injuries with the Eagles top-ranked defense, the Packers offense certainly had their work cut out for them.
Early in the game, Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins suffered what appeared to be a shoulder or neck injury and was lost for the rest of the game. The Packers missed Jenkins terribly.
First, they tried rookie Travis Glover at left guard. He struggled badly and was called for three holding penalties. Kadeem Telfort replaced him and stabilized things a bit, but Jenkins’ absence was felt throughout the game both when blocking for the run and trying to protect Jordan Love.
The Packers entered the game without Christian Watson at wide receiver. During the game, they also lost Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs. That left the Packers without their top three wideouts. The only receivers left were Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath.
The absence of the team’s top three wideouts made any comeback attempt that much more difficult.
Late in the game, center Josh Myers left with an injury.
On defense, Devonte Wyatt left the game in the first quarter and did not return which compromised the inside pass rush. The Packers started the game without Jaire Alexander.
Eventually, the Packers simply had too many key players unavailable to pull off the upset.
The injuries are not an excuse, the Eagles were the better team on Sunday, but the injuries certainly made it harder for the Packers to compete.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Loss to the Eagles, Number Three: The Defense Played Well
Despite all the struggles the offense had, the defense managed to keep the Packers within striking distance until the closing minutes of the game. They also prevented the Eagles from putting points on the board after the first two Eagles interceptions.
The Packers secondary deserves a lot of credit. They did a good job of covering Philadelphia’s receivers for most of the game and held the Eagles to just 2-of-11 on third downs.
While Saquon Barkley gained 119 yards on 25 carries, he didn’t dominate this game and many of his yards came when the Eagles were trying to close out the game late.
The Eagles averaged 5.1 yards per play in this game, the Packers 5.0. Jeff Hafley’s group did a good job of containing a dangerous Philadelphia offense despite not getting much pressure on Jalen Hurts for most of the game.
Number Four: Penalties Hurt Again
The Packers were called for eight penalties in this game for 85 yards. They gave the Eagles two first downs via penalties and many other calls disrupted potential Packers drives.
In addition to the holding calls against Glover, the defense was called for some unnecessary roughness penalties that hurt the defense.
Special teams were also hampered by holding calls on some of Nixon’s kick returns. Another call wiped out a long completion to Heath.
This young team needs to be better disciplined and cannot afford to beat themselves. This is something the coaching staff will have to work on next season because it cost the Packers dearly in 2024.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Loss to the Eagles, Number Five: Josh Jacobs Went into Beast Mode
Jacobs came to Green Bay for a chance to play in the postseason and he certainly showed the determination and skills that helped him have a Pro Bowl season.
Jacobs finished the game with 121 total yards and scored the Packers only touchdown. This was the ninth straight game Jacobs ran for a score.
His 31-yard dash on the final play of the third quarter was a thing of beauty. Jacobs made several people miss, had others hanging on to his jersey and bulled over a few more to get inside the one-yard line.
Jacobs was a force to be reckoned with this season for the Packers. He was the catalyst of the offense and the heart and soul of the team.
Number Six: Jordan Love Struggled
Love continued to struggle with accuracy. The Eagles top-ranked defense played him tough. The elbow injury he suffered a week ago may also have hampered his passing at times. He also faced more pressure than usual due to the injuries along the offensive line.
Overall, Love completed 20-of-33 passes for 212 yards and three interceptions. He simply didn’t have a strong game. He failed to see some open receivers and tried to force the ball to receivers who were double covered at times.
Last year against the Cowboys, Love played a nearly perfect game. He will need to play better next season if the Packers hope to advance deeper into the playoffs.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Loss to the Eagles, Number Seven: Matt LaFleur Never Went Up Tempo
With the Packers trailing by two scores midway through the fourth quarter, head coach Matt LaFleur never went to a hurry-up or no-huddle offense. In fact, the Packers often ran the play clock down to five seconds or fewer on that drive even though the game clock was still moving.
Going to a no-huddle offense would have limited the Eagles ability to make substitutions and changed things up for a struggling Green Bay offense.
Perhaps the limited number of receivers left, and the inexperienced offensive line made LaFleur think twice about going up-tempo. But at that point in the game, it would have been smart. Instead, the Packers ran time off the clock and were unable to score, ending their comeback threat.
Number Eight: Special Teams Hurt the Packers
The Packers special teams also struggled in this game. Nixon’s fumble to start the game was a turning point.
Penalties backed the Packers up a few times and kicker Brandon McManus missed a 38-yard field goal wide right. McManus had only missed one field goal try all season since joining the Packers in Week 7.
Even when Nixon didn’t fumble, his returns never got the Packers past their own 30 and that cost them field position.
At least Reed made one good punt return and Daniel Whelan averaged 50 yards per kick, but overall, Rich Bisaccia’s group didn’t help the cause much.
Ten Things We Learned from the Packers Loss to the Eagles, Number Nine: Where were the Tight Ends?
Tucker Kraft made five catches but gained just 26 yards. He caught only two passes in the second half when the Packers were desperately trying to come back.
Luke Musgrave didn’t get targeted once in this game. Perhaps he wasn’t healthy enough to play a bigger role, but with all the receivers being injured, you would have thought the Packers would have used Musgrave as a downfield weapon at some point in the game.
The tight ends should have been featured more after the injuries to the wideouts, but they were never a big part of the game plan. That’s difficult to understand under the circumstances.
Number Ten: The Packers Season Is Over
A season that had been so promising came to a disappointing end. Yes, the Packers made the playoffs with the youngest roster in the league, but that inexperience showed in this game and really throughout the season.
The Packers beat themselves far too often in 2024. While the Packers are a good team, they are a tier below the elite teams in this league and still have some work to do to get there.
This team remains young and has a strong core. Now it will be up to Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur to take the team to the next level in 2025.
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