Packer Central

Four Pivotal Matchups for Packers Against Eagles

If the Green Bay Packers are going to upset the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night, they must hold their own in these slightly under-the-radar matchups.

Bill Huber

Do the Packers have enough quality cornerbacks to contend with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, shown making a catch vs. Jaire Alexander in 2022?
Do the Packers have enough quality cornerbacks to contend with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, shown making a catch vs. Jaire Alexander in 2022? / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will face numerous challenges for Friday night’s season-opening showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo.

The Packers are a team without an obvious weakness. The Eagles are no different. The Packers will have to at least hold their own in these four matchups if they’re going to enjoy a fun flight home from Brazil.

Packers on Offense: Interior O-Line vs. Eagles DTs

Even without longtime star Fletcher Cox, the interior of the Eagles’ defensive line is strong. That’s where there are questions about the Packers. Not so much with former Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins, but with fourth-year center Josh Myers and third-year right guard Sean Rhyan (and first-round pick Jordan Morgan, if it’s a timeshare).

Jordan Davis was a first-round pick in 2022 and Jalen Carter was a first-round pick in 2023. Davis is a massive but athletic run stopper. Carter, who finished runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year, is an explosive pass rusher. He had six sacks and finished fifth among interior defenders in PFF’s pass-rush win rate.

“He is a freak show,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Carter. “He can do it in the run game, he can do it in the pass game. He is an elite level athlete. He can do anything out there on the field. He’s going to keep improving and I think he’ll be — if he’s not already — one of the premier defensive linemen in the league.”

For the Packers to win, Josh Jacobs needs to provide a steady running game to keep the Packers in advantageous down-and-distance situations, and Jordan Love will need time to take advantage of the perimeter matchups. It will be up to Myers, Jenkins and Rhyan to get it done.

“We know what we’re getting ourselves into,” Myers said. “So, it’ll be exciting to see where we’re at. That’ll be a good test.”

Packers on Defense: Eagles Offensive Line

Even without longtime center Jason Kelce, the Eagles have a dominant offensive line.

Jordan Mailata is a premier left tackle. Lane Johnson is a longtime standout at right tackle. Mekhi Becton, a bust as a first-round left tackle for the Jets, should be better at right guard. Landon Dickerson is a solid left guard. Cam Jurgens, a second-round pick in 2022 who didn’t allow a sack in 11 starts at right guard last year, has replaced Kelce in the middle.

“I think he’s one of the best in the game,” LaFleur said of Mailata, a seventh-round pick in 2018 and former Australian rugby player. “He’s just big and athletic. Philly, especially in the last five years or so, have had one of the best offensive lines in the game of football. Losing Kelce, that’s a tough guy to replace, but they have five guys that can start on most teams. It’s going to be a good challenge for our defense.”

Can Green Bay’s defensive front pass that test? In 2022, the Eagles crushed the Packers with 363 rushing yards. That was a different scheme with some different defensive linemen, but the Packers have the NFL’s worst run defense during LaFleur’s five years as coach.

The Packers want to attack and penetrate up front. Will that be a winning formula, or will the Eagles use the Packers’ aggressiveness against them to form big creases for Saquon Barkley?

Packers on Defense: CB Eric Stokes vs A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith

Even assuming a big bounce-back season by Jaire Alexander in which the former All-Pro can eliminate the opponents’ No. 1 receiver, the Packers have a major question on defense.

The Eagles boast two premier receivers with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Eric Stokes is a smart man. He knows where Jalen Hurts is going to throw the ball.

At him.

“You’ve got Jaire on the other side,” Stokes said. “Of course you’re expecting the ball to come your way.”

As a rookie first-round pick in 2021, Stokes was magnificent in turning in an All-Rookie-caliber season. Pro Football Focus charged him with a 51.0 percent catch rate, which was one of the best marks in the NFL, regardless of experience. However, according to PFF, Stokes allowed an 82.8 percent catch rate during his injury-shortened 2022 and injury-plagued 2023. Despite starting nine games in 2022 and two games in 2023, he hasn’t broken up a pass since Christmas 2021.

Full healthy through training camp, Stokes is eager to prove he can be a stopper.

The outcome of this game – and the fate of the season – could depend on it.

“I feel great,” he said. “You know when you’re dealing with Jaire on one side, you already know the other side is going to come with a lot of fire, so it just gives me more opportunity to show what I got, show what I can showcase.”

Packers on Special Teams: Eagles Returner Britain Covey

The Packers boast All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon, but the most impactful returner on the field could be the Eagles’ Britain Covey.

The 5-foot-8, 173-pound Covey went undrafted in 2022 despite returning two punts and one kickoff for touchdowns during his final season at Utah.

Last season, he averaged 14.4 yards punt return and led the NFL with seven returns of 20-plus yards. The Packers, meanwhile, had one of the worst punt-coverage units in the NFL.

“He doesn’t like to fair catch,” Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “He likes to make plays inside the 10, inside the 5. He’s got great quicks. He can make you miss and he can go the distance. So, he’ll be a handful that we’ll try to manage with Daniel (Whelan) and our coverage teams.

“Any time that you play Philly, offensively, defensively, and certainly in the kicking game it’s a challenge. They’re a big, physical, fast unit and so it will be a good challenge for our group.”

As for Nixon, the two-time All-Pro might not get many opportunities, even after rules changes designed to increase the number of returns. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott boomed 80 percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks last season. On Thursday night, nine of the 11 kickoffs in Chiefs-Ravens resulted in touchbacks, meaning the new rules had little impact on strategy. 

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.