Eagles Down Packers 22-10 In NFL Wild Card Game
Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles
Divisional Round here they come. The Eagles put on a defensive masterclass in their first-round matchup against the Green Bay Packers winning 22-10, and moving on to the next round of the NFL playoffs. Philadelphia will host either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the winner of the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings game.
Saquon Barkley had a good game rushing for 119 yards, while Dallas Goedert grabbed four balls for 47 yards and one touchdown, and Jahan Dotson grabbed the other touchdown for the Eagles in the win. Josh Jacobs was primarily the entire Packers’ offense rushing for 81 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles defense was the true MVP of the day, picking off Jordan Love three times, sacking him twice, and grabbing a fumble on a kickoff return, while only allowing 10 points.
Right away the Eagles came out firing as on the opening kickoff of the game, Oren Burks knocked out the ball for a fumble and gave the Eagles an early possession inside the thirty. It didn’t take long for Jalen Hurts and company to cash in on the fumble as two plays later, Hurts found Jahan Dotson in the back of the endzone for an early touchdown.
Things got worse for the Packers as on their first actual drive on offense, they could barely even move the ball causing a quick three-and-out. Both teams then traded short-yardage possessions that resulted in punts. With the ball back and under five minutes to play in the quarter, the Eagles finally got a long drive going.
It started with two big runs from Hurts and Saquon Barkley, and after a few small yardage gains, Hurts found Smith for a big first down to get them inside the 15. However, the offense then stalled out with three consecutive incomplete passes forcing them to send Jake Elliot out for the 31-yard field goal to make it 10-0 Eagles.
After the kickoff, Jordan Love’s true color began to show as he chucked a deep ball right into Darius Slay‘s hands for an interception. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the offense was unable to do anything with the turnover, as it was then a quick three and out for Philadelphia.
The Packers then finally got a long offensive drive going thanks in big part to running back Josh Jacobs and tight end Tucker Kraft. Jacobs was able to pick up a few decent runs and Kraft got them two huge first downs thanks to sneak plays with him lined up at quarterback. Green Bay then stalled out at the 28-yard line and out came Brandon McManus for the field. However, the often reliable McManus pushed the field goal right missing it to keep the Eagles up 10.
Philadelphia then went three and out once again, giving the ball back to Love and the offense with under two minutes to go. After a big 20-yard play from Jayden Reed, the Packers were nearly field goal range again. That was until Zack Baun picked off Love for the Packers’ third turnover of the half giving the Eagles the ball with 30 seconds until the half. The offense once again struggled to move the ball and both teams went to the half with the score 10-0 Philadelphia.
Out of the half, the offense continued to struggle against the Packers’ defense. They got one first down thanks to Barkley but Hurts ended up taking a huge sack to force them to punt once again. Down 10, the Packers finally cashed in with points for the first time all game.
Jacobs picked up nearly 20 yards thanks to a few runs and an 11-yard screen pass, and a 30-yard pass to Dontayvion Wicks set them up at the Eagles 30-yard line. A pass interference call from Quinyon Mitchell set Green Bay up for first and goal from the nine. The Eagles were able to stop the attack, forcing McManus to kick a 26-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
Up by just seven, the Eagles needed to get a score badly. After two short runs from Barkley, Hurts found Devonta Smith for a 29-yard catch and a play later found Smith again for nine yards to get inside the 25. The next play on a tight end screen, Dallas Goedert stiffed-armed Packers corner Carrington Valentine twice plowing his way into the endzone, but a missed extra point by Elliot made it 16-3.
However, the Packers answered back right away. It was the Jacobs drive as he pounded the rock for big yardage plays, then grabbed a pass in the air. He then capped off the drive with a huge 31-yard run to get the ball to the one and then punched it in the next play to make it 16-10.
Up by six, Philadelphia needed points. Hurts kicked things off with a 10-yard pass to Goedert, and Barkley and Hurts went back and forth with small runs to get to the other side of the 50. A 15-yard unnecessary roughness by Green Bay set up the Eagles inside the 20. After a small run from Barkley, a holding call pushed them back 10 yards and after failing to get the first down, Sirianni settled for three to make it 19-10.
With just over seven minutes left, the Packers began their drive to get it back to a one-score game. Love found Jacobs for 14 yards to open the drive, but after two short yardage plays and an incomplete pass, Green Bay then had 4th and 3. Love’s pass to Malik Heath was too far out of bounds and the Packers turned it over on downs.
The Eagles then ran multiple run plays to waste as much time as they could getting down inside the 15 with three minutes left. Elliot was trotted out to kick a field goal and drilled it to make it 22-10.
With time running out for Green Bay, Love and company needed points and fast. After a bad snap pushed the offense back Love found Emanuel Wilson for a huge first down and Bo Melton for another big pickup over the middle. However, after the two minutes warning Love chucked a deep ball that was picked off by Mitchell to ice the game. Barkley ran the clock out with a big first down run to end the game with the Eagles winning 22-10.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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