GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers lost twice to the Philadelphia Eagles last season, including a road playoff game. On Monday night at Lambeau Field, they’ll meet again. The team that wins this game could be the home team for a potential playoff rematch.
“Having two Ls to this team last year, losing the playoffs to them, definitely a team, if you make the playoffs, you know you’re definitely going to see a team like this again,” quarterback Jordan Love said this week. “So, definitely, you’ve got to maximize these opportunities and you want to go win this game.”
In an important game, here are the 10 most important Packers.
The Packers are in bad shape on offense. Not only is Tucker Kraft on injured reserve, but receivers Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams are questionable.
Suddenly, Christian Watson has gone from the question mark as he came off last year’s torn ACL to one of the most important players on the offense. He’s off to a good start, having caught 6-of-8 targets for 143 yards in two games. He had a 33-yard catch against Pittsburgh and a 52-yard catch against Carolina.
Watson’s probably not going to catch seven passes for 140 yards, but a big play or two could be huge for an offense that was challenged to methodically move the ball up and down the field last week.
“Since I’ve been on the team, I’ve lost to them three times. I definitely want to get a win, for sure,” Watson said. “It’s a great opportunity to have the defending Super Bowl champs come into Lambeau on Monday night. We get an opportunity to do something big.”
Zach Tom had a tremendous season last year, finishing third behind Penei Sewell and Lane Johnson for the All-Pro vote at right tackle. Really, his only poor game of the season was the playoff loss to Philadelphia, when he gave up one sack and a season-high four pressures.
Nolan Smith, who had two sacks in the playoff matchup to earn a game ball, is poised to come off injured reserve after missing five games after aggravating the triceps injury originally sustained in the Super Bowl.
Suddenly, an Eagles pass rush that had been poor during the first half of the season could be powerful with the return of Smith and the additions of Jaelan Phillips (trade) and Brandon Graham (out of retirement).
“We don’t see it as 1s and 2s,” Smith told reporters this week. “We see it as a Group Alpha and a Group Delta. We’re all going in like [Navy] SEALs, and we’re all going in to do a job.”
All week, the Packers have spoken highly of tight end Luke Musgrave, who will replace injured Tucker Kraft as the team’s primary tight end.
“He provides a really good down-the-field threat,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said on Friday. “He’s got really good speed. He’s long, good range when he catches the ball. I think that’ll just kind of put him in the forefront of our offense as far as getting him more targets.
“It will be interesting to see how the rest of this thing goes with him. He may surprise us in other ways, too. That’s kind of the interesting thing about how just our entire offense right now is different guys got to step up, and we’ll see kind of how it goes. But I’m excited about that.”
Musgrave had caught only six passes this season until he had three catches for 34 yards on the final series against Carolina. It was his most receiving yards since Nov. 12, 2023, at Pittsburgh – almost exactly two years ago. A week later, he suffered a lacerated kidney against the Chargers, an injury that really changed everything at the position.
“Injuries (are) the worst part of football,” Musgrave said this week. “I’ve unfortunately had two of them the past two seasons, so you’ve got to keep on playing. Reps are going to be different and we’re going to miss Tuck, but we’ve got to keep on going and focus on doing our job to the best of our ability.”
The Eagles’ top defensive lineman is 336-pound defensive tackle Jordan Davis. He lines up mostly at right defensive tackle, meaning he’ll see a lot of left guard Aaron Banks.
The playoff loss to Philadelphia was an impetus behind Green Bay going bigger on the offensive line. Banks, given a four-year, $77 million contract in free agency, was the big move in getting bigger and stronger.
Banks’ season has been plagued by injuries dating to training camp. He played every snap against the Bengals, Cardinals and Steelers. The Packers won all three. He played only the opening series last week against the Panthers due to a stinger. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Packers were upset.
“I think he’s playing really well, but his problem is we’re having a hard time getting him to finish games, getting him dinged up with different things,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said this week. “That’s one thing that I think, we can get him in for a steady amount of time, it definitely will help, for sure.”
Davis’ 30 tackles include three sacks and four tackles for losses.
If Banks does not win this matchup, it is going to be exceptionally hard for Josh Jacobs, who must have a productive game, to get going.
In Week 1 of last season, Colby Wooden played zero defensive snaps for the Packers in the loss to the Eagles in Brazil. Now, he’s one of the team’s most important players, evidenced by the run defense crumbling without him against Carolina.
Wooden played only 15 snaps last week due to a shoulder injury. He’s off the final injury report and will be the center point of the effort to slow down game-wrecking Saquon Barkley.
“Someone asked me about The General last week,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said on Friday. “Well, The General went out early in that game, and we had to move some pieces around. And I think D-Wyatt (Devonte Wyatt), just coming back from his injury, I felt we were a little bit off in our details. And, obviously, that starts with coaching. …
“It’s our job to make sure that we don’t have a drop-off. And I don’t think we did a very good job there in that game, truthfully. So, we need to do a better job there, and then we need to execute better. I think it showed you how much of an impact player Colby is, and I certainly expect him to be ready to go again. And I think D-Wy just getting back into the swing of things, I anticipate him taking a big step this week.”
DeVonta Smith leads the Eagles in receptions (44) and yards (588). He’s caught 80 percent of his targets, had two 100-yard games and scored a 79-yard touchdown. Importantly for this matchup, he’s eighth among receivers with 25 receptions when lining up in the slot.
Green Bay’s primary nickel defender is safety Javon Bullard. Bullard is having an excellent second season. Pro Football Focus charged him with 15 receptions and 111 receiving yards in the first two games. In the last six, he’s been charged with 16 catches for 91 yards. Bullard not only will have to deal with Smith in the passing game, he’ll be a line-of-scrimmage factor against the Saquon Barkley-fueled run game.
Green Bay’s best defensive player is defensive end Micah Parsons, who has been a high-impact player following the preseason trade.
He’ll face a big challenge this week. Well, two big challenges, with right tackle Lane Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has taken 25 sacks, but Mailata has allowed only one this season and Johnson hasn’t given up one since facing Parsons and the Cowboys in 2023.
“It’s why I say pass rush is like chess,” Parsons said of going against Johnson. “You know every opening, you know every closing but, at the same time, it’s like at what time do you make your attack and how do you set it up, how do you disguise it? Because I know I’m not going to go out there and beat Lane Johnson 10, 20 times. That’s unrealistic. But how do I beat him one or two times that changes the game? That’s what it’s about.”
It stands to reason that Green Bay’s linebackers will take center stage against Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and the running ability of quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Barkley has the power to run through tackles and the speed to go the distance. Walker and Cooper are going to have to come up big against one of the NFL’s most dangerous players.
Walker leads the team with 71 tackles. Cooper is second with 61. Shockingly, after leading all rookies and all off-the-ball linebackers with 13 tackles for losses last season, Cooper has only one this season.
In an effort to avoid the Tush Push, the Packers need to keep the Eagles into third-and-3 – or, preferably, longer. Impact tackles by Cooper will be key.
Without premier tight end Tucker Kraft and with rookie receiver Matthew Golden unlikely to play, there’s little doubt who the passing game will flow through against the Eagles.
Romeo Doubs.
That was the case against Carolina, when Doubs set season highs for targets (10), catches (seven) and yards (91). Doubs was excellent against the Panthers, and he’ll have to do the same against the Eagles. It will be interesting to see if their defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, will put his top corner, Quinyon Mitchell, on Doubs to try to make someone else beat them through the air.
Jordan threw a total of 14 interceptions last season. Four came against the Eagles, including three in the playoff game.
Healthy and more experienced, Love is a different player this year. Love’s thrown only three interceptions. He is sixth in passer rating, fourth in completion percentage and ninth in interception percentage.
“They have a good scheme that they’re committed to, and they do well,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said this week. “LaFleur calls it. He has good command of his offense. The quarterback has good command of it now. It’s the only system he has ever been in, and you could see it. They do a lot of motion, a lot of movement, good tight ends, good receivers, good back. Obviously, they’re a tough matchup.”
Patience will be a virtue for Love, who did a good job last week aside from a horrendous first-and-10 bomb that was intercepted. He absolutely, positively has to avoid those major mistakes, and then he has to get back to his excellent red-zone play after the team went 1-of-5 last week.
“They’re a good team, obviously,” Love said. “Two losses against them last year, so it’s going to be a test. We know that. It’s Monday Night Football. Going to be a great atmosphere, and it’s going to be a test. It’s going to be a bounce-back week for us and we’ve just got that mindset to focus on us and our process and all the little details and just have that mindset to go out there and start fast and play our best ball Monday.”
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