The Philadelphia Eagles (15-3) move on after defeating the Green Bay Packers (11-7) 22-10 at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday in the wild-card game.
Philadelphia advances to the Divisional Round, which will take place next Saturday or Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate Philly’s ‘Big 3’ and their outstanding performances on Sunday:
-Nolan Smith got after Jordan Love on Sunday. He finished the game with eight tackles, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. Smith has elevated his game in his second season, and he showed that in this contest.
-Zack Baun continues to play like an elite linebacker this season. He had eight tackles and an interception right before halftime. The Eagles have one of the best defenses in football because of the play of Baun. Philadelphia would force four turnovers, including three from the defense. The Eagles’ four takeaways were their most in a playoff game since 2002.
Oren Burks wasn’t all that great when he replaced an injured Nakobe Dean, but he made the play of the game when he forced Keison Nixon to fumble on the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Jeremiah Trotter Jr. That turnover turned into an 11-yard Jahan Dotson touchdown reception.
Honorable Mention:
-Dallas Goedert made beautiful catches, including an amazing 24-yard touchdown reception, where he stiff-armed the defender for about 10-plus yards. He’s a weapon, and it’s good to have that weapon back in the lineup. Goedert finished the night with four receptions for 47 yards, and a touchdown.
-Saquon Barkley rushed for 119 yards on 25 carries, marking a playoff career-high and the first time Barkley has eclipsed the 100+ yard mark in a playoff game.
End of the Day:
Defensively, the Eagles were big-time. Offensively, they were very average, including quarterback Jalen Hurts(13/21, 131 yards, two touchdowns). Hurts did not look very good, but he was good enough. He looked like a guy who had not played in three weeks. Again, fortunately, he made just enough plays, and also, fortunately, he didn’t turn the ball over.
However, if the Eagles want to continue to advance, they have to improve on the offensive side of the ball.
In the end, it’s win and move on!
One more thing…
“As an offense, we struggled a little bit. I don’t think we had the game that we wanted to have on offense, but Jalen, I think, did a lot of good things. First of all, Jalen is a winner. He wins. I mean, no one can argue that.”
–Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni
-Quinyon Mitchell, who helped seal the victory at the 2:00 mark in the fourth quarter, became the first Eagles rookie to produce a postseason INT since Roynell Young accomplished the feat in the NFC Championship on 1/11/81 vs. Dallas.
-A.J. Brown had one reception for 11 yards; that has to change in the next game.
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