The Green Bay Packers head into the NFL Playoffs as the seventh seed for the second season in a row, and they are hoping for a repeat Wild Card Weekend performance. Last season, the Packers boat raced the Dallas Cowboys, 48-32. This year, they draw a much tougher matchup — the Philadelphia Eagles.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but the Packers and Eagles started the NFL season against each other over in Brazil. In that game, the Eagles came away with a win on that sloppy field, 34-29. Green Bay hopes for a different result in this Packers vs Eagles matchup. However, they will need to play their best football.
After limping into the NFL Playoffs, here are three questions for the Green Bay Packers head of Wild Card Weekend.
Questions For the Green Bay Packers Heading Into the NFL Playoffs
Will Jordan Love Show Up Post-Toyotathon?
Much has been made of Jordan Love‘s performance during Toyotathon over the past couple of seasons. It is a funny story, and he has in fact played better during this span. This season, Love passed for 1,569 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception during Toyotathon. He completed 65.4% of his passes during these eight games as well. Over the previous seven games, Love completed 61.2% of his passes for 1,820 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Clearly, Love has been protecting the ball better over the second half of the season. It’s no coincidence that his passing yards are down as well, with Green Bay leaning on Josh Jacobs and the running game more. Love has been asked to do less, which has helped the team overall. However, he has not ended the season strong. Over the final three games, Love has completed just 60% of his passes for 436 yards and two touchdowns.
To beat a defense as good as the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers will need a balanced attack. Josh Jacobs and the running game is solid, but without a true passing attack to complement it, the Eagles will crowd the box and stop it. Jordan Love will need to show up and play much better than he has for most of the season. Even his patented underthrown deep passes that draw a penalty will be a welcomed sight.
Can Jordan Love step up and prove he is worthy of the contract he was lucky enough to have signed?
Can the Packers’ Secondary Step Up?
The Green Bay Packers cornerback group was one of the weakest in the NFL heading into the season, with no quality depth behind Jaire Alexander. Green Bay decided to not make a move at the trade deadline, and the Alexander knee injury has him ruled out for the next few weeks. The team also decided to trade away Preston Smith, making a mediocre pass rush less creative, at the very least. This has resulted in this defense getting exposed a bit.
The Packers really struggle against teams with two legitimate wide receivers, and this week they face AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. The Packers have also struggled to defend good quarterbacks during the second half of the season:
- Jared Goff: (109.3 passer rating)
- Caleb Williams (95.0)
- Tua Tagovailoa (114.2)
- Jared Goff (109.7)
- Geno Smith (77.4) — finally played well
- Sam Darnold (116.1)
- Caleb Williams (95.2)
If the Packers want to continue to sit back in zone coverage (because our corners can’t win individual matchups) while not getting pressure, it will be a long day. Green Bay will need to be aggressive, take chances, and play their best football on the defensive side as well.
Can the Packers Win the Special Teams Battle?
Over the past many seasons, the special teams have been a massive issue for the Green Bay Packers. Only last season did Brian Gutekunst begin investing roster spots in special teams players outside of kicker, punter, and long snapper. That improved the team units, and bringing in proven veterans at punter and kicker has resulted in much-improved play there as well. However, Week 18 saw the special teams take a step backward again.
Both issues in Week 18 were on the punt team. First, Matt Orzech snapped the ball over punter Daniel Whelan’s head. Whelan truly has been the Packers’ best player this season, and we saw it again on this play, as he was able to get the ball and punt it away fine, covering up the mistake. On the next drive, however, Whelan has his punt returned to the house on a beautiful trick play, giving the Bears a touchdown and all of the momentum.
The Packers have to win on at least two of the three phases of the game to defeat the Eagles, and it appears they have the best possible chance on special teams due to how good Whelan and Brandon McManus have been. So, special teams will need to bounce back on not be the problem.
If we can simply not make mistakes on special teams, it will give us an advantage. As good as the Eagles are, they do have some special teams concerns. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott only has hit on 77.8% of his field goals this season. This includes a miss in two of the past three weeks. If Philadelphia leaves points off the board, and Green Bay takes care of business in this regard, then they could keep the game close.
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