The Green Bay Packers (11-6) and Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) will do battle Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in the NFC Wild Card Round.
The Packers became the first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game last season. Once again the seventh seed, Matt LaFleur’s team will attempt to repeat the feat when they take on the second-seeded and NFC East champion Eagles to open the postseason.
The Packers lost back-to-back games to end the regular season, while the Eagles won 12 of 13 games to finish the year.
Here are five things to watch and a prediction for the NFC Wild Card Round:
Week 1 rematch
The Packers and Eagles opened the 2024 NFL season in Brazil, where the Eagles outlasted the Packers and won 34-29 in a back-and-forth battle. The rematch will end up ending the season for one of these teams. So much often changes for teams over the course of a full season. For instance, Packers rookies Edgerrin Cooper and Evan Williams combined to play 11 defensive snaps in the opener. They will be key starters for Jeff Hafley’s defense on Sunday. On the flip side, Christian Watson caught a touchdown pass and Jaire Alexander had an interception in the end zone, and neither will be available for the Packers this time around. The Eagles will have all 22 preferred starters available for the rematch, and they added rookie Cooper DeJean — a standout in the slot down the stretch — to the mix in the secondary. Both teams leaned hard on their veteran running backs to establish an identity, and both defenses emerged as top-10 units after the Week 1 shootout.
Quarterback question marks
Quarterback play so often decides big games, especially in the postseason, and both the Packers and Eagles are entering this contest with legitimate question marks at quarterback. In Green Bay, Jordan Love is coming off an injury to his right elbow in the season finale. He also didn’t play particularly well over the final three games, and he won’t have one of his top targets in Christian Watson. In Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts is coming off a concussion and he hasn’t played a full game since Dec. 15. Also, A.J. Brown (knee) and Devonta Smith (back) are both dealing with injuries. Which quarterback is going to manage their own circumstances and play well enough to win on Sunday? The Packers probably need Love to be the better quarterback to win.
Turnover turning point
The Packers ranked fourth in the NFL in takeaways (31) and second in points off turnovers (131). The Eagles ranked sixth in takeaways (26) and third in points off turnovers (117). The Packers were 9-1 when winning the turnover battle, while the Eagles were 8-0. It’s quite clear how important winning the ball will be to determining the winner on Sunday. An interesting subplot — Jordan Love hasn’t thrown an interception since Nov. 17 and didn’t lose a fumble during the 2024 season, while Jalen Hurts threw only five interceptions — and just three over his final 14 games after tossing two to the Packers in Week 1. The Packers got three takeaways and still lost in the opener, but turnovers are almost always part of the upset recipe. Can the Packers win the ball on the road in the postseason? Matt LaFleur’s team was +2 (including 14 points off turnovers) on turnovers in last year’s upset in Dallas.
Edge and Quay
Rookie Edgerrin Cooper was arguably the most disruptive defensive player in football over the final four games of the 2024 season, and he’ll likely get back his running mate at linebacker for Sunday’s showdown. Quay Walker, who was playing at a high level when he went down with an ankle injury, should be back after missing three games. The Packers need Cooper and Walker — one of the most athletic linebacker duos in the NFL — to chase down and disrupt Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts from start to finish. The Packers should also return rookie Evan Williams, who forms a strong safety duo with All-Pro Xavier McKinney. The spine of the Packers defense must play at an elite level to beat the Eagles on Sunday. Keep in mind, this will be the first time in weeks that Cooper, Walker, Williams and McKinney all play together.
Final opportunity
By most meaningful metrics, the Packers were one of the NFL’s five or six best teams during the 2024 season. While Matt LaFleur’s team scored wins over teams like the Rams, Texans and Seahawks, the Packers had five opportunities to beat the Eagles, Vikings and Lions and failed all five times, and a two-game losing streak to end the regular season certainly dampened expectations entering the postseason. Sunday is the last opportunity for the Packers to prove they are one of the best. It seems two paths forward exist: Either the Packers will lose in Philadelphia, suffer a sixth (and season-ending) defeat to one of the NFC’s elite teams and cement themselves as good but not great, or the Packers will prove their might and win in Philadelphia, finally secure the big-time win and potentially spark a run through the NFC playoffs. No one gave the Packers a chance last year in Dallas, and the 2024 team is better than the 2023 team in almost every single way. The Packers must avoid the self-inflicted mistakes and self-sabotage that have defined their losses and play their most complete game of the season to travel down the preferred path on Sunday.
Prediction: Eagles 24, Packers 23 (9-8)
The Packers can win this football game. They have the ingredients — a big-play creating quarterback, a tackle-breaking running back, a creative and experienced playcaller and a turnover-causing defense — to go into Philadelphia and beat the Eagles. At their best, the Packers can beat anyone in the field. I just lack the confidence in their ability to play four quality quarters without the self-sabotage that has defined so many of their biggest games and moments in 2024, especially on the road against one of the NFL’s best. The Eagles are as well-balanced as any team in football, and they rarely beat themselves. Like last January in Dallas, the Packers will need to run the ball consistently, play turnover-free, get a clutch performance from Jordan Love in the passing game and take the ball away from Jalen Hurts a couple of times to win. The Eagles are great, but this game is as much about the Packers’ ability to get out of their own way as it is about the Eagles’ talent. In the end, I won’t be surprised if one more self-inflicted error ends up dooming what could have been a special season for a young and mostly impressive Packers team on Sunday.
