The Green Bay Packers open the playoffs against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia. The Packers finished the regular season with an 11-6 mark while the Eagles are 14-3. Green Bay lost to the Bears 24-22 last Sunday. Meanwhile, the Eagles beat the Giants 20-13. Philadelphia won the regular season meeting between these two teams in Week 1, 34-29. Here are the keys to victory for the Packers in their Wild Card playoff matchup with the Eagles.

The Packers lead the all-time series between these two teams 28-17-0 in the regular season. The two teams first met in 1933. This will be the fourth postseason meeting between the Packers and Eagles with Philadelphia taking two of the first three. The two teams have never played a Packers home game in the playoffs.

Here are the keys to victory for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia:

Packers Keys to Victory vs Eagles, Number One: Contain Saquon Barkley

This will be the key for the Packers defense. Saquon Barkley is the catalyst of the Eagles offense. He can hurt opponents as a runner and as a receiver out of the backfield.
Barkley led the NFL with 2,005 yards rushing. He had a realistic chance to break the NFL single season rushing record had he not sat out the final game of the season. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry and 125.3 yards per game while running for 13 touchdowns.

Barkley also caught 33 passes for 278 yards and two scores. One of those touchdowns came in Week 1 vs the Packers and was the first touchdown scored by the Eagles this season.

The Eagles rank second in the NFL with an average of 179.3 yards gained on the ground per game. The Packers run defense has been stout this season and ranks seventh in the NFL and allows just 99.4 yards per game.

Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper has been strong against the run. He has made eight tackles for loss in the Packers last four games. Green Bay also hopes to get Quay Walker back and healthy which gives them more speed in the middle of the field. T.J. Slaton and Kenny Clark will also need to step up and play well to contain Barkley.

It will be important for the Packers defense to stay in their lanes and not allow Barkley to cut back for big gains.

Barkley will get his touches, but the Packers have to limit his impact and stop him at key moments in the game.

Number Two: Get Pressure on Jalen Hurts and Don’t Let Him Scramble

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has missed the last two games due to a concussion. He returned to practice Wednesday and is expected to play against the Packers Sunday. The key question may be whether he’s rusty after not playing for two games.
Hurts completed 68.7 percent of his passes and has 18 touchdown passes and just five interceptions. He is also the Eagles second leading rusher with 630 yards and 14 rushing scores. Hurts may be less eager to run with the football because of his recent concussion but we’ll see.

The Packers may use Cooper as a spy on Hurts. They will need to get pressure on the opposing quarterback to get Hurts off his game. Jeff Hafley will likely need to dial up some blitz combinations because the Packers have struggled all season to put pressure on the quarterback rushing only four.

The Packers need Rashan Gary, Cooper, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox, and Devonte Wyatt to step up and rush the quarterback.

The Eagles have allowed 44 sacks this season while the Packers have recorded 45. Hurts will need to make some quick passes to beat the rush. Whether he does this successfully will be critical to the success of the Philadelphia passing attack.

Packers Keys to Victory vs Eagles, Number Three: Prevent Splash Plays in the Passing Game

The Eagles have dangerous receivers, and the Packers secondary is without Jaire Alexander. That means Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon will start as perimeter cornerbacks. They will have to play well against the Eagles.

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are a formidable one-two punch at wide receiver for the Eagles. Brown provides more of a deep threat, but both are talented and dangerous. The Packers know this duo will make catches but hope to prevent splash plays. It will be interesting to see how the Packers utilize Xavier McKinney in the secondary and whether Hurts tries to avoid him.

Tight end Dallas Goedert also gives the Eagles a good target at tight end. Cooper, Walker, and Evan Williams will be tasked with covering Goedert in the middle of the field whether in zone or man coverage.

Number Four: Protect Jordan Love

The Packers have done a good job of protecting the quarterback this season. They gave up just 22 sacks in 17 games this season. The Eagles defense recorded 41 sacks which ranks 13th in the league.

The big matchup will be between Eagles edge rushers Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith, Jr. and Packers tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom. Sweat led the Eagles with eight sacks while Smith was second with 6.5.

Jordan Love suffered an elbow injury last week against the Bears. This likely won’t hamper his mobility but it may reduce his desire to scramble. If he has time to throw, the Eagles have the league’s top-ranked passing defense and allow just 174.2-yards per game through the air.

The Eagles play mostly zone coverage which benefits the Packers who will be without Christian Watson, their top receiver at beating man coverage.

Love will need time to throw, and he will need to be accurate against this tough Eagles defense.

Packers Keys to Victory vs Eagles, Number Five: Establish the Running Game

The Packers running game provides the foundation of the offense. They rank fifth and average 146.8-yards per game. The Eagles rushing defense ranks 10th in the league and gives up just 104.2 yards per game on the ground.

Josh Jacobs serves as the catalyst of the Green Bay offense. His ability to break tackles when running in close quarters helps him gain extra yards on so many plays.

The Packers interior offensive line does a good job of double-teaming defenders and giving Jacobs a hole to run through. Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Elgton Jenkins will go up against Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Milton Williams. The Eagles had 81 tackles for loss as a team, so keeping them out of the backfield will be key.

It could be a long evening if the Packers can’t run the football on Sunday. If they can, they have a much higher chance to pull off the upset.

Number Six: Get off to a Fast Start

The Packers play their best when they take an early lead. Matt LaFleur chooses to receive when he wins the toss so the Packers can score first, take the lead and play from ahead. The Packers tend to give a steady dose of Jacobs on the first drive.

The Eagles, on the other hand, tend to start slowly. The first quarter has been their worst quarter on offense this season.

If the Packers take an early lead, they can mix run and pass and perhaps even reduce the Eagles reliance on Barkley running the football. This will put more pressure on Hurts and the Eagles receivers.

Falling behind quickly could be a big problem for the Packers.

Prediction:

This will not be an easy game for either team. In Week 1, the game went down to the final play and the Packers lost by five points. At least they have a reliable kicker now which they lacked in Week 1.

Both teams have evolved since that game. Both quarterbacks are dealing with recent injuries and both teams base the foundation of their offense on the running game.

The Packers have yet to win a game against an elite opponent, but they have come within one score in four of those five games.

The ultimate reason is that this young team is still learning how to win. The Eagles are a step or two ahead of the Packers in their development. The Pack will keep it close and win this game, but they are likely to fall just short.

Eagles 34, Packers 31

 

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