It is never easy — 5 takeaways from Packers-Eagles Wild Card a day later
Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. (2) reacts after an interception against the Green Bay Packers during the first half in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The last time the Eagles won a home Wild Card game was over the Giants in 2006. That changed Sunday evening.
It was not as easy as it should have been by any means necessary. At times, it was ugly, frustrating, and stressful. But, in the playoffs, it is all about going 1-0 every week.
The Eagles took down the Packers in the Wild Card round at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, advancing to the NFC Divisional Round next Sunday at 3:00 ET. They will play the winner of Monday night’s Vikings-Rams game.
Here are my five takeaways a day after the win:
Defensive domination
The Packers are no easy pass for any team in the NFL. Their high-powered offense with Jordan Love, which averaged 27 points per game during the regular season and was top-five in yards, points, and rushing yards per game, is a force to be reckoned with. However, the Eagles shut them down big time.
This defense was ferocious. They held the Packers to 10 points and 262 yards prior to the meaningless final drive in the last few minutes. Although Josh Jacobs finished with 81 yards, the Packers’ very good ground game never got going.
Love had not thrown an interception in two months. The Eagles picked him off three times. Nolan Smith picked up two sacks, and Vic Fangio’s unit did what they have been doing since the bye week, shutting offenses down.
The Eagles’ offense was obviously off for the majority of the ball game. The defense had to come up huge. And they sure did. The best defense in the league carried Philadelphia to this win.
Not 1. Not 2. But 3!
Love had gone 173 consecutive throws without an interception, and the Eagles have had just two interceptions in their last nine playoff games.
That was flipped on its head Sunday.
Darius Slay started them off to begin the second quarter. He kept great concentration, staying stride for stride with Dontayvion Wicks down the sideline, and the ball seemed to just land perfectly in his hands for an incredible interception. Slay had gone 21 straight games without a pick. Good to see him get one.
Zack Baun had a chance to pick a ball off on a short pass, and then one play later Love threw it right to him.
The dagger was inserted by Quinyon Mitchell in the endzone following the two-minute warning. Love chucked it up into double coverage, and the rookie came down with it. Mitchell has been so close to so many INTs this season, and he finally got one. Was awesome to see. His failed attempt at Triple H’s Pedigree with Cooper DeJean was not fun to see, though.
The Eagles do not get a ton of interceptions this season. They ranked 13th in the league with 13 picks in the regular season. But these were winning plays, and the Eagles needed every last one of them.
Nolan Smith, bah gawd
Smith is becoming an excellent pass rusher in this league, and it was on full display against the Packers.
Last season as a rookie, a good amount of this fanbase forgot he was a second-round pick. Now, he is making impact play after impact play. He had 6.5 sacks in the regular season and got two against Love, who only took 14 sacks this season.
Smith is explosive off the snap and wallops the quarterback when he gets there. With his first sack, forcing a loss of 13 on third down, Smith cut right past right-tackle Zach Tom, chased down the scrambling Love, and took him down from the ankle with an excellent tackle.
Smith is developing into an elite pass rusher, and with the Eagles losing Brandon Graham after this season, he will be vital to the Eagles’ future.
The passing offense has to be better
The Eagles had 29 passing yards through the first seven series. 29. Jalen Hurts, in his first game since Week 16, looked lost. He was missing wide-open receivers, holding the ball on for too long, seemed uncomfortable around the pocket, and looked how he looked at the end of last season. Besides his 11-yard touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson on the opening drive — which was Dotson’s first as an Eagle — Hurts was brutal. Under pressure in the first half, he was one-of-seven for 11 yards. The offense looked lifeless, going one-for-six on third down in the first half.
And then, in the third quarter, there was a spark. Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith for a big 28-yard completion, and things were clicking again. Dallas Goedert capped off the drive with his grown-man, 24-yard score.
Yes, the passing offense has to be better. Of course, it does, this is January football and when you win by 12 with 22 points after creating four turnovers, it is not good enough. But, Hurts had not played a game in three weeks. I believe in the early portion of this game Hurts was just getting back into a rhythm. He showed a lot of resilience bouncing back with that third-quarter touchdown drive.
He may have done enough to win the Eagles a football game, which is all that matters right now, but Hurts and the passing game have to be better if the Eagles hope to go to New Orleans in February.
Nakobe Dean tears patellar tendon, is out for the remainder of the playoffs
This news sucks.
Dean got hurt Sunday making a three-yard tackle for loss on Tucker Kraft midway through the second quarter, and the Eagles quickly ruled him out for the rest of the game. It was a great play, but the way he landed on his leg, you could tell it was serious. He was seen leaving the locker room on crutches with a brace on his knee.
This is a huge loss for the Eagles. Dean has been so consistent and physical all year and has boosted himself into a great linebacker with Baun.
Oren Burks will replace Dean. The veteran will surely lay it all out there, and he is very physical. He is the one who forced the fumble on the opening kickoff. But, Dean is a special guy to be without.
The Eagles came into this game with all 22 starters healthy, but they left with 21. Brutal.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
