The Philadelphia Eagles traveled to the frozen tundra to take on the Green Bay Packers. The game itself held an enormous amount of weight for a matchup that’s only at the halfway mark of the season. Both of these teams are in position for the NFC's number one seed, and the victor would gain that much of an edge.
From the beginning of this matchup, you can sense the tension like a chess match for all the marbles. Both defenses continued to show up on every single play. It would come down to which defense blinked first, which wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter.
Although the Eagles' offense played efficiently in the first quarter, a QB draw would set them back as Jalen Hurts would fumble the ball after marching down nearly 80 yards. This turnover would force the Eagles to go back to their conservative play style that has had fans extremely frustrated all season.
It seemed as if their every move was extremely obvious. Barkley couldn’t get any space to run after being handed the ball on nearly every attempt. The passing game was also non-existent even after the success they found when targeting Dallas Goedert early on.
Throughout the game, it was blow after blow. The Packers continued to go for it on fourth down although their lone success came on a QB sneak that was successful due to the left side of the line jumping early. Sounds familiar?
Jordan Love continued to look uncomfortable as the Eagles' defensive line continued to suffocate him. Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles' newest defensive weapon looked the part on every snap. He continued to smother Love and Jacobs in the backfield whenever given the chance.
The first score came on a successful 39-yard field goal attempt by Jake Elliott in the third quarter. Philadelphia stuck by its odd philosophy of playing it safe as opposed to attacking the opposing defense.
It wasn’t until a big 3rd and 7 that Jalen Hurts could not find a target as the pocket was collapsing. He found a wide-open Saquon Barkley on the left side of the field who took the pass for a big gain of 41 yards after a nasty spin move. This set up a 36-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, who continues to have an outstanding season.
Green Bay would answer back on the next drive as they marched down the field at ease but because of a defensive pass interference call, the Packers were able to draw closer on a six-yard run by Josh Jacobs. Game on.
The battle between the teams would now escalate with the tension growing thicker. The Eagles would attempt to answer with an unsuccessful drive in the fourth quarter. With the score being 10-7, Philadelphia’s conservative play style would come back to haunt them as they went three and out.
Green Bay would now have the ball with 2:15 left on the clock. Jordan Love would be pinned down near his own end zone on third down and found a way to make a big-time 25-yard pass to a wide-open Christian Watson. Green Bay would continue its attack until a costly fumble by Josh Jacobs that killed their momentum.
The fumble was forced by the Eagles' newest addition in Jaelan Phillips on 4th and 1. Despite another blown drive by the Eagles after Green Bay's failures, Philadelphia edged out the Packers to win 10-7 in a brutal defensive battle by the skin of their teeth after a botched field goal attempt by the Packers. The Eagles are now 7-2 on the season and will host the Detroit Lions next Sunday for another tough matchup.
