- WHERE: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
- WHEN: 4:30 p.m. ET | FOX, FOX Deportes, NFL+
This is a rematch a season in the making.
The No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers will visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon with a spot in the Divisional Round on the line, bringing both teams’ seasons full circle after meeting in Week 1.
The Packers are back in the playoffs and the No. 7 seed for the second year in a row after overcoming an early injury to quarterback Jordan Love and stiff competition from within the division to earn the final NFC spot.
Now, a season removed from taking down the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card Round to become the first No. 7 seed to win a playoff game since the expansion in 2020, Green Bay will hope to repeat history with another upset over an NFC East foe.
Meanwhile, the Eagles earned the No. 2 seed after winning 12 of their last 13 games after a 2-2 start to the year, a return to form after the late-season collapse from the 2023 campaign. Philadelphia is in search of a return to the Super Bowl after just losing the big game two years ago, and seems to be hitting its stride at just the right time to make a long playoff run, provided the upstart Packers don’t foil those plans.
The last time these teams faced each other in the first-ever Brazil game on Sept. 6, it was the Eagles who came out on top, 34-29. A lot has changed for these teams since that first week of the season, so only time will tell whether it’ll be a repeat performance for Philly or a chance at revenge for Green Bay on Sunday.
Here are three things to watch for when the Packers visit the Eagles in Sunday's wild-card game:
1) Will availability post-injuries be the decider? Both of these teams come into Sunday’s matchup with notable question marks on offense due to injuries. For the Packers, playing for potential higher seeding in Week 18 cost them starting wide receiver Christian Watson, who suffered a torn ACL and will miss the playoffs. In addition, quarterback Jordan Love exited the game with an elbow injury which caused him to have troubles with feeling in his hand. Head coach Matt LaFleur said postgame that it was only a precautionary measure to remove him, with Love later adding that he's hopeful about his ability to play this week. Love was a full participant in Thursday's practice, as was his backup Malik Willis (right thumb). How close to full strength Love will be, and what the offense’s capabilities are either way without Watson remains to be seen. On the other sideline, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts did not play the final two weeks of the season after suffering a concussion in Week 16, and his backup Kenny Pickett was held out of the final week with a ribs injury. That left Tanner McKee to start Week 18, and while he got the win, Philly will want Hurts to be the one under center in this win-or-go-home contest. Hurts returned to practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday, was upgraded to full on Thursday and was finally cleared from the concussion protocol on Friday. As with Love and the Packers, the question beyond his availability will be whether there’s any rust from his time away if/when he returns to the field.
2) Free-agent RB signings lead the way. Fortunately for both of these offenses, injuries or struggles at the QB spot can be helped by a good run game, which both teams have. Saquon Barkley is the obvious draw for the Eagles, leading the team to an average of 179.3 yards per game behind his historic 2,000-yard season and helping to offset their 29th-ranked passing offense, even before Hurts’ injury. In the first showdown between these teams in Brazil, Barkley opened his Eagles tenure with 132 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns to lead the squad to victory. With his production only increasing since that game, it’s no doubt that he will be the linchpin of this offense, as he has all season. However, it was the Packers who actually had the better rush game overall in that contest due to their group led by Josh Jacobs. Jacobs hasn’t had nearly the same eye-popping numbers as Barkley this season, but he has still been a huge free-agent acquisition for the Packers. He ranks in the top five in scrimmage yards among RBs, recorded his fourth career season with 1,000-plus rush yards, and actually finished with more touchdowns on the ground (15) than Barkley (13). His presence figures to be a major factor as well. As for which defense presents the more challenging matchup to these RBs? The Packers are ranked seventh in rush yards allowed, and the Eagles 10th, giving the former what might be a slight edge.
3) Who'll win in a defensive clash of titans? With all of the stars on offense, it can be easy to forget that both of these teams finished the regular season with top-ranked defensive units that deserve their own laurels. The Packers defense ranks No. 6 in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed this season, and has a particular penchant for takeaways (31, fourth), led by safety Xavier McKinney’s eight interceptions. And McKinney is quite familiar with the Eagles after facing them twice a year while he was playing in New York, having picked off Jalen Hurts three times in his career, including in Week 1. However, a knee injury to Jaire Alexander, which will now have him miss the playoffs, could impact the passing game. The Packers have felt the loss of their former Pro Bowl cornerback the last seven weeks, with opponents’ completion percentage, passer rating and TD-INT ratio all rising with him off the field. The Eagles defense has been even more dominant this season, ranking first and second, respectively, in yards and points allowed per game. This can largely be attributed to a huge improvement in pass defense from last season to now, going from 31st in pass yards allowed to No. 1 this year in that category. Contributions from rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the secondary were key in this switch, while the emergence of first-time Pro Bowler Zack Baun at linebacker was an overall boon for the defense. The unit will be hoping to continue their lockdown play against a short-handed Packers squad.
