Packer Central

Three Reasons Why Packers Will Lose to Eagles

The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles will clash in a battle of NFC powerhouses on Friday night. Here are three reasons why the Packers could lose.

Bill Huber

Jalen Hurts and the Eagles ran wilde against the Packers in 2022.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles ran wilde against the Packers in 2022. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Gameday. Is. Here.

At long last, the Green Bay Packers will kick off a season surrounded by Super Bowl hype against the Philadelphia Eagles tonight in Brazil.

The Eagles have championship aspirations, too, having fallen to the Chiefs 38-35 in the Super Bowl just two years ago. So, there are plenty of reasons to worry headed into this NFC showdown.

Here are three.

1. Run Defense

The last time these teams met was 2022. The Eagles ran for 363 yards that night. It was the fourth-worst run-defending performance in the NFL over the previous 40 seasons. It was a shock that coach Matt LaFleur let defensive coordinator Joe Barry ride the plane back to Green Bay, let alone kept him as coordinator another full season.

There’s a new defensive coordinator now with Jeff Hafley. He has installed an attacking, penetrating defensive scheme designed to make plays in the backfield to put the opponent into long down-and-distance situations.

“Typically, what we’re trying to do is get guys in the backfield to own their gap through their man,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich explained. “So, if they’re aligned as a 3-technique on the outside part of the guard, it’s his job as you go through the outside part of that guard and own the B-gap in between the outside part of the guard and the inside part of the tackle.

“Wherever that gap moves, he’s got to move along it and then that allows the guys behind it to scrape, get over the top, get downhill, and fill the gaps that they have to fill. That’s how you’re going to try to work to set up a wall, build a wall, penetrate that wall to make sure that running back has to bubble his course or stomp his feet in the ground so he doesn’t have a downhill force to hit a crease.”

Will it work?

The Eagles, even without longtime center Jason Kelce, have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. That’s why their backs are No. 1 in the NFL in yards before contact the past two years.

Running back Saquon Barkley, who was signed in free agency, is one of the best in the business. He just missed a fourth career 1,000-yard season last year with the woeful Giants.

Jalen Hurts is an elite dual-threat quarterback. In his first three seasons as a starter, he rushed for 2,149 yards and 38 touchdowns.

Maybe Green Bay’s deep defensive line, which is deep and athletic and seemingly made for this scheme, will create all sorts of havoc. Or maybe, with so little time on task in the preseason, it quite literally will not be ready for primetime.

2. Eagles’ Abundance of Weapons

The beauty in the Packers’ offense is quarterback Jordan Love will drop back to pass on every play feeling good that at least one of his five potential targets will get open.

The Eagles’ passing attack has overwhelming talent, as well.

Receiver A.J. Brown, who is a dominating physical presence, finished eighth in receptions (106) and fifth in yards (1,456) last year.

“I remember when he played at Ole Miss,” Packers defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said this week. “He was the same then when he was there and he’s the same now. He’s a handful on the red line, he’s a run-and-catch guy, he can get YAC, he’s strong at the reception area. He’s a matchup issue.”

Receiver DeVonta Smith, who showed his game-breaking speed while winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama, finished 20th in receptions (81) and yards (1,066) last year.

A couple weeks ago, the Eagles acquired 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson from the Commanders. He scored seven touchdowns as a rookie and caught 49 passes last year.

“That’s a good little trio,” cornerback Eric Stokes said. “Not even talking about the running back and the quarterback.”

Or the tight end. Even while missing three games, Dallas Goedert ranked 12th among tight ends with 59 receptions and 14th with 592 yards last year. He’s had at least 55 catches each of the past three seasons.

The Packers have an elite cornerback with Jaire Alexander, but he can’t cover everybody. Are Stokes, Keisean Nixon and the rest of Green Bay’s defensive backs and linebackers going to be up to the task?

3. Special Teams

Judging by how the Chiefs and Ravens played on Thursday, the new kickoff rules might be much ado about nothing.

Of the 11 kickoffs, only two were returned. The Chiefs kicked six consecutive touchbacks.

So, will the new rules favor the Packers’ two-time All-Pro returner, Keisean Nixon? Only if the kickers give him an opportunity.

He might not get many opportunities against the Eagles. Last season, 80.2 percent of Jake Elliott’s kickoffs resulted in touchdowns. So, he’s got plenty of leg to keep the ball away from Nixon.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have two big weapons.

Britain Covey finished second in the NFL with a 14.4-yard average on punt returns last year. He’ll attack a Packers special teams that finished 26th in punt coverage.

Elliott made 30-of-32 field goals last year, including 7-of-8 from 50-plus yards, to earn second-team All-Pro. He’s missed 11 kicks the last three years; Anders Carlson missed 11 last year alone.

That’s why Carlson is the former Packers kicker and not the current Packers kicker. Rookie Brayden Narveson had a strong preseason, but can he do it when it counts?

In Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, Philadelphia was 10th and Green Bay was 29th. Limiting Covey and making field goals would be a successful night. 

More Green Bay Packers News

Narveson two-stepped his way to Green Bay | Packers-Eagles final injury report | Packers-Eagles: How to watch | Three reasons for optimism | Three reasons for disappointment | Picking every game (and Super Bowl) | Consensus power rankings | Packers-Eagles Wednesday injury report | Stokes healthy, smiling | Another new running back | Packers-Eagles Tuesday injury report | Watson “ready to rock” 

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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.