A lot of the hope that was regained by Green Bay Packers fans after the win against the Dallas Cowboys is gone this week after a 27-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans. It is looking really unlikely that the Packers make the playoffs now, but there is still a chance. Even Matt LaFleur says ‘It is a one-game season from here on outā indicating that there is very little margin for error from now on. To keep the season alive we need to start winning, and this week’s game comes against one of the best teams in the NFL right now: Philadelphia Eagles. This makes our jobs hard. At the moment Green Bay are 7 point underdogs. Can the Packers get the win to keep the season alive?
The Philadelphia Eagles currently sit at 9-1 with the best record in the NFL. They are 5th in the league for offensive yards per game and 2nd in yards allowed. The Eaglesā defense looks great right now. They are top of the league in turnover differential. In other seasons, having Aaron Rodgers would mean this stat would not be scary as a fan. This season is different though. Rodgers has thrown 7 interceptions already this year. C.J. Gardner-Johnson leads the NFL with 9 interceptions. To put that into context, that is more interceptions than Green Bay has as a whole team. Rodgers needs to look after the ball if we are going to win.
Furthermore the Eagles are 3rd in the league in sacks. Saying this, none of the top 10 players in the league when it comes to amount of sacks play for Philadelphia. This indicates that sacks are spread along the line, which could prove hard for the Packers to deal with. However, the Packersā O-line held the Dallas Cowboys to only 2 sacks, despite Dallas sitting at the top of the league in that category, above the Eagles. This gives some hope.
Now to look at their offense. Jalen Hurts has really stepped up this year, helped by the arrival and retention of AJ Brown, Dallas Goedert and Zach Pascal. These weapons have led to the Eagles being 5th in the league in yards per game. This has been assisted with a top 5 rushing game. The Packers did an alright job holding Derrick Henry to only 3.1 yards per carry this week, so will have to replicate this if they want to win.
I saw an interesting statistic questioning the ability of the Eagles.It would be too long to list the whole thing, but since 2021, the QBās that the Eagles have beaten include Garrett Gilburt, Trevor Siemien and Davis Mills, with the best QB on the list arguably being Kyler Murray or Trevor Lawrence. Aaron Rodgers is the best QB that the Eagles have faced since 2021 and hopefully this can make the difference and potentially expose the Eaglesā true level.
Obviously in the NFL anything can happen so of course the Packers can win on Sunday. I think I am more optimistic than most coming into the game against Philadelphia but I have been let down in recent weeks so my optimism is still limited.
