The stage is set.
This Sunday, the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers will travel to face the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round.
The Packers are limping into the playoffs on the heels of two consecutive losses with underwhelming performances from the offense. The Eagles, meanwhile, won 12 of the final 13 games during the regular season, including two without quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is still in concussion protocol.
Hurts practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday but still needs to be cleared before Sunday’s game. Green Bay hasn’t had the best injury luck this season and will be without its deep threat wide receiver Christian Watson and potentially star corner Jaire Alexander for the entire postseason.
Of course, injuries didn’t stop the Packers during their Super Bowl run in 2010, which started with a victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia.
If Green Bay hopes to have a similar result this year, they must come out on top of these key matchups.
Packers run defense vs Saquon Barkley
Let’s start with the obvious one. Barkley is coming off an incredible season in which he became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in 16 games. In the Week 1 matchup against the Packers, he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Green Bay’s run defense went on to have a pretty good season, finishing seventh overall in rushing yards allowed per game (99.4). Despite an improved season against the run, the Packers’ defense has a difficult task this weekend in trying to limit Barkley, who runs behind an offensive line that looks to bully opposing fronts. If they can contain the best back in the league, it could lead to a win on Sunday.
Packers secondary vs WR AJ Brown, WR DeVonta Smith
Green Bay won’t face many wide receiver tandems better than Brown and Smith. The duo combined for 12 receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown in the season opener, and that was with a healthy Jaire Alexander. Now, the Packers will rely on corners Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine to do their best to defend the perimeter, while safety Xavier McKinney will have to pick and choose who he decides to help against. The Packers can’t afford to put too much focus into stopping Barkley, or it could lead to a huge game for the Eagles’ passing attack.
RB Josh Jacobs vs Eagles run defense
As much as Green Bay will have to worry about Barkley, Philadelphia must do the same with Jacobs. The Packers’ newcomer at running back had a strong first season with the team, rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns on 301 attempts and also catching 36 passes for 342 yards and another score. Jacobs had a solid outing in the first meeting against the Eagles, picking up 84 yards on the ground while averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Philadelphia finished with the 10th-ranked run defense in 2024 and will need another strong effort on Sunday. Even if the Eagles succeed in stopping the run early, Matt LaFleur can’t afford to abandon Jacobs. He’s been the motor for the offense basically all season.
