The Philadelphia Eagles are the first NFL team to reach 10 wins this season and continue to have a grip on the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a 40-33 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
It was simply a dominant day for the Eagles on the ground as they rushed for a total of 363 yards and three touchdowns. It’s the second-most rushing yards in franchise history and the most for the club since 1948. Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders were the main cogs in this rushing offense as the duo got together. is combined for 300 yards. They are the first tandem in Eagles history to each have at least 125 rushing yards in a game.
Philadelphia set the tone on the ground and the book early in this game by taking a 13-0 lead over Green Bay. In the first quarter alone, Hurts rushed for 103 yards and Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell were able to find the end zone. However, the Packers were able to absorb those ground hits and counter, scoring on back-to-back drives to take the lead late in the first quarter. The Eagles regained the lead just before halftime and began to split wide in the final two quarters.
After forcing a three-and-out in Green Bay’s third quarter opener, the Eagles offense moved 86 yards downfield to add to their lead and continue their dominance out of the backfield. A major second-half development that impacted the Packers was a rib injury to Aaron Rodgers. This forced Jordan Love to finish the game, but the young quarterback was unable to fully bring his team back, despite scoring a touchdown on his first practice of the night.
Hurts finished with 153 passing yards and two touchdowns while adding a team-high 157 rushing yards on 17 carries. Sanders was right behind him with 143 rushing yards to go along with two scores. Meanwhile, Rodgers completed 11 of 16 for 140 yards, two touchdowns and two picks before leaving. Love completed 6 of 9 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown to Christian Watson.
For a more detailed breakdown of how this game played out, check out our takeaways below.
Why the Eagles won
Naturally, the running game is Philadelphia’s MVP. They could get what they wanted on the pitch and had a historic night doing it. Specifically with Hurts, he used his legs early and often and that was especially helpful in extending workouts. On the opening possession and facing a third-and-6, Hurts broke up a 28-yard run that not only moved the chains, but placed the ball inside the 10-yard line. He also had a 42-yard rush on a third-and-2 play late in the first quarter that helped set up another touchdown.
Meanwhile, the defense was able to pressure Aaron Rodgers at a decent pace. Javon Hargrave was an unsung hero when intercepting Rodgers as the defensive tackle pressed him down the middle, knocked him out of the pocket and into a rushing throw to Allen Lazard which was picked off by Josiah Scott.
Philadelphia also began to come home and sack Rodgers at key points in the game. On back-to-back drives (except for the kneeling before halftime), the Eagles defense recorded sacks on Rodgers on third down and forced the Packers to return the ball. Each time after those subsequent sacks and punts, the Philadelphia offense found the end zone, solidifying their lead.
Why the Packers lost
Green Bay’s poor run defense rages on Sunday night. Heading into Week 12, the Packers defense ranked 29th in the NFL in DVOA and it was clear why after giving up 363 yards rushing on an average of 7.4 yards per carry. Naturally, that was the main reason Green Bay ended up 4-8 this season and almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
That said, the Packers clashed with the No. 1-seeded Eagles throughout the first half. It was the last two quarters of regulation that left them in the dust. Specifically, Green Bay squandered several opportunities early in the third quarter. The club had the ball back to start the second half and Keisean Nixon was able to mount a stellar return for 52 yards that put the ball into midfield. Instead of capitalizing on that position on the pitch, the offense went three and Aaron Rodgers got injured in the process.
After the Eagles scored on their possession to further extend their lead, the Packers offense brought the ball to the Philadelphia 6-yard line. With Matt LaFleur set to go in fourth and third, a false start penalty along the O line sent them back 5 yards, which forced the Packers to score a field goal instead, cutting the deficit to 11. Meanwhile, Rodgers was able to complete this drive but was visibly in pain with each setback and did not return after this placement.
Those back-to-back drives were where the Packers slowed down just enough for Philly to split.
Turning
The Packers offense didn’t jump too long with Jordan Love under center for the injured Aaron Rodgers. In fact, it took just four plays for Green Bay to go 75 yards down the field and cut the Eagles’ lead to seven thanks to a 63-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson. Although that caused a slight change in momentum towards the Packers, Philly was able to snuff out any realistic chances of a comeback with a 10-play drive that resulted in a 54-yard field goal by Jake Elliott. Not only did that drive and field placement get the Eagles up two points, they also missed nearly seven minutes behind and gave the ball back to the Packers with just over two minutes left in the game. .
Instead of just needing to drive down the field to go for a tie or an outright win, Green Bay was faced with the challenge of hitting the field goal and then praying for the kick in game bounces back, which it didn’t.
Game of the game
For a game where there was a total of 73 runs scored, there were surprisingly some standout moments on the defensive side of the ball. One in particular came midway through the second quarter when Jalen Hurts completed a short pass to AJ Brown. As the wide player turned upfield, he was stripped and the ball was picked up by Packers rookie linebacker Quay Walker. He nearly took it home, sending the fumble 63 yards back to the Philadelphia 13-yard line before going out of bounds. This then led to a touchdown on offense, which tied the game at 20.
As impressive as Walker’s run was, Jalen Hurts also did a good job of slowing him down on the return. Just by getting in front of him, Walker was forced to make a cut, which gave the Eagles defenders the chance to catch up and prevent him from scoring.
And after
From there, the Eagles will stay at home in Philadelphia and prepare for a Week 13 game with the Tennessee Titans, who just lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. As for the Packers, they will hit the road and visit Chicago where they will face the Bears.