The Green Bay Packers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff from Philadelphia is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CT. FOX will have the broadcast.
To help preview Packers-Eagles, we’ll be answering a question a day about the two teams until kickoff on Sunday.
We start with a simple one: What made these two teams playoff worthy in 2024?
Both teams started 2-2. From there, the Packers won nine of the final 13 games, while the Eagles stormed into the playoffs winning 12 of their final 13. The Packers overcame injuries at quarterback and improved drastically on defense. The Eagles emerged as one of the best defenses in football.
Green Bay Packers (11-6, No. 7 seed)
Packers Wire: The Packers reinvented themselves with new additions, using Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs to help power a revamped and occasionally dominant run game and Pro Bowler Xavier McKinney and first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to create a drastic improvement defensively. For large stretches of the season, the Packers relied on explosive plays generated on offense and takeaways on defense to win games. Green Bay ranked among league leaders in explosive passing plays and rushing plays and finished fourth in takeaways with 31. Jordan Love battled knee and groin injuries and was too turnover-prone during the first half of the season, but he’s protected the ball better in the second half. For the most part, the Packers dominated the league’s middle and bottom tier of teams. The problem was five losses against the Eagles, Vikings and Lions — all teams with 14 or more wins in 2024. By most statistical measures, the Packers were one of the NFL’s elite or near elite teams this season. But they have one last opportunity to truly prove it on the field on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Eagles (14-3, No. 2 seed)
Eagles Wire: A retooled approach on offense and defense played a major part in Philadelphia regrouping after last season’s late collapse. Howie Roseman read the room and invested major money in star running back Saquon Barkley. That signing took pressure off Jalen Hurts, and gave the Eagles a home run hitter and three-down back at the tailback position. Hiring Kellen Moore proved to be the right move for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles quarterback was more efficient with the football this season. On defense, Vic Fangio implemented a two deep safety scheme and inserted Zack Baun into the linebacker spot. Quinyon Mitchell was elite from Day 1, while Cooper DeJean’s insertion at the nickel cornerback spot helped Philadelphia improve after the bye week.
