Three reasons why the Packers will beat the Eagles in the wild-card playoff game

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers went on the road and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2010 Wild Card game, beginning their path to the Super Bowl championship.

Can history repeat itself?

Here are three reasons why the underdog Packers will beat the Eagles in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card clash.

1. Packers’ Run Defense vs. Saquon Barkley

There is a good chance that the winner of this match will become the winner of the match.

Barkley had a historic season. He ran away with the NFL rushing title, pun intended, with 2,005 rushing yards. He surpassed 100 yards in 11 of 16 games, including against Green Bay in Week 1, when he carried 24 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and added two catches for 23 yards and another touchdown in the Eagles’ 34-29 victory.

Really, the Packers were good against Barkley for most of the game, with his only successful run of 34 yards at the end of the third quarter.

From 2019 to 2023, the first five seasons of coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure, the Packers ranked last in the NFL with 4.66 yards per carry allowed. This year, under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, they finished third in allowing 3.96 yards per carry.

“It will be a challenge, but I know our guys are ready for it and looking forward to it,” Hafley said. “When they watch the tape, they feel like we’ve improved. We improved in run defense. They are excited about the challenge.”

The game will start in the trenches. According to Sports Info Solutions, Barkley ran for 1,018 yards before contact. That’s a lot of easy yards, thanks in part to an offensive line where all five starters received All-Pro votes, including four of the five receiving first-place votes.

Green Bay’s defense and defense will have to do just that, as they have done for most of the season. The Packers finished seventh with 99.7 rushing yards per game. They allowed about 500 fewer yards than last year and almost 700 fewer than 2022.

“Just the physicality, the way guys just run downfield,” defenseman Kenny Clark said. “We really care about it. It’s everyone’s job and I think it helps. It’s not just D-line players and defenders. We have nickels, safeties coming in on the fly and fixing the edges, and so on.

“It was definitely the most detailed match we have played.”

2. The Packers defense in style

The Packers finished sixth in points allowed this year and fifth in total defense. They haven’t finished in the top 10 in both categories in the same season since 2010.

This season turned out to be OK.

The key for the Packers was taking away big plays and forcing opponents to move the ball down one down first.

The Packers have allowed just one play of over 40 yards this season. It was AJ Brown’s long catch-and-run touchdown against Jaire Alexander in Week 1.

That’s all.

No other team in the NFL allowed fewer than six plays for 40 yards. The league median is 10th.

“We come out here and prepare hard. We practice hard. We’ve been doing that all year,” explained All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney. “When we fail at something, we try to repeat it. We keep doing this until we succeed. I think everyone on the defensive side has that mindset. We just try to go out there and do all our jobs individually to the best of our ability.”

On the other hand, the Eagles’ offense finished second with 19 plays of 40-plus yards. Running back Saquon Barkley has a league-best seven 40-yard rushes, and quarterback Jalen Hurts ranks sixth with 10 completions of more than 40 yards.

Although Green Bay’s defense eliminated big plays, they created plenty of them. He finished fourth with 31 takeaways and eighth with 45 sacks.

Yes, the Packers’ passing rush was extremely hot and cold, but the Eagles – despite their great offensive line and All-Pro offensive tackles – finished next to last in sack percentage allowed.

“They’re doing a great job from a coaching staff standpoint, but also from a players standpoint, really finding their formula,” Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore told reporters earlier this week. “Everyone is always trying to find prescriptions that will work for them.

“They are great on third downs. They hold the ball in front of them. They do a really good job in that respect. They do some good things in the running game to stress you out a little bit. I think they found a really good formula. You could say that they play fast and confidently. All their people are connected to each other. You don’t see a lot of errors. You can feel that this is a really well-trained team.

3. Playing with household money

Before the Packers went outside for Friday’s practice, they went through an extensive pre-practice warm-up.

The players had no problems, they danced a lot and were fooling around. As the players gathered near the exit of the Don Hutson Center, coach Matt LaFleur did something rare. He approached the gathered reporters and asked if the team’s “atmosphere” seemed fine after back-to-back losses to the Vikings and Bears to close out the regular season.

Yes, the atmosphere in the team was good.

“Now it’s a new season,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “We’re in the playoffs and now it’s time to refocus.”

The disappointment of stumbling into the playoffs is long gone. They thought about the opportunity that awaited in Philadelphia.

“Yeah, it was a great week,” LaFleur said after Friday’s practice. “I think we are excited about this opportunity and it always starts with the right approach to it. Of course, you get to this time of year, every match is a great challenge and traveling away is never easy.

“I think the things you can influence – just the energy, the effort, that’s all it was. We’re excited about it and we’re going to take on the challenge.”

The challenge is enormous. The Eagles led 14-3, and their only loss in their last 13 games came when starting quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion in the opening minutes of a game against the playoff-bound Commanders.

Saquon Barkley finished first in the NFL in rushing. The defense finished first in yards allowed. As a team, the Eagles finished second in point differential and yardage differential.

In short, they are a dominant team.

Expectations are sky high. Two years ago, they blew a fourth-quarter lead in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs. They started 10-1 last year before the season collapsed.

Like LaFleur, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni needs to show he can win a big game.

Is it possible that the Packers – who are almost universally expected to fail – will emerge with the attitude that they have nothing to lose, as they did last year in Dallas?

That’s the idea. Considering Philadelphia lost in the first quarter this year, it’s not too far-fetched a scenario for Green Bay to go after the Eagles from the start and really ramp up the pressure.

“Attacking, coming out and really punching them in the mouth right away,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “We have to come out with intensity, juice and fire. We have to start quickly.”

If it happens on Sunday, who knows what will happen.

Latest news about the Green Bay Packers

The statistics (presented in the story) show this. #Packers Rookie LB Edgerrin Cooper is a rising star.

He barely played against the Eagles in week one. “Just watching a video from me earlier this year, I was like, ‘Ugh,’ what was I doing?” https://t.co/kSaNot578w

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) January 9, 2025