Pete Dougherty and Dominique Yates evaluate the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Eagles
Pete Dougherty and Dominique Yates summarize the Green Bay Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.
SÃO PAULO – Had the Green Bay Packers been prepared for what the Philadelphia Eagles defense threw at them early in the game, they might not have been in the position they found themselves in at the end.
Instead of needing a touchdown drive with 22 seconds left in a 34-29 loss in the season opener, they could have intercepted an onside kick to win.
Coach Matt LaFleur might not have left the Corinthians Arena with a 0-0 record in international games.
Philadelphia couldn’t stop Green Bay’s first-quarter offense, limiting starter Josh Jacobs, making his Packers debut, to 4 yards on his first six carries. The timing was disastrous, as the Packers had the ball in Eagles territory three times in the first 12 minutes and ended up with just 6 points.
Had they been able to get Jacobs off the field earlier—he gained 80 yards on his next ten attempts—they might have scored enough points sooner to completely change the tenor of the game.
“Philly, you have to give them credit,” LaFleur said. “They played defense and did things we didn’t expect.”
New Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had every reason to be concerned with the Packers’ passing game, but he didn’t want them to initiate the running play right from the start. The Packers are great when they can execute play-action, and Fangio decided to stop the running play first.
Every time Jacobs got the ball, several defenders were at the line to stop him.
“They just exploited the gaps,” Jacobs said. “They had a great game plan for the decisions we made. Once we made adjustments, we were better.”
By being aggressive with their linebackers, the Eagles were able to nullify some of the Packers’ double coverage blocks on their interior zone running game. For example, when Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers double covered defensive tackle Jordan Davis, one of them had to slide early to ensure the blitzing linebacker didn’t have a clear shot at Jacobs.
Instead of breaking double coverage and blocking the linebacker further up the field, they had to immediately hold him, which blocked Jacobs up the middle.
“They blitzed a lot and got us out of our double coverage,” Jenkins said. “You have to get out of your double coverage. Most of the time (it messes up the game). We adjusted. We started running different plays. It kind of worked against the scheme.”
The Packers finished the game with 21 carries for 163 yards, which was the Packers’ third-most rushing yards since the start of the 2023 season.
The way the game started, it looked like Jacobs was no longer the player who led the league in rushing two years ago.
It was backup Emanuel Wilson, still somewhat hampered by a hip injury, who got things rolling. Wilson got the ball three times in a row early in the second quarter, running for 14, 5 and 18 yards.
Wilson finished the game with four runs for 46 yards.
As the Eagles headed toward the middle after Wilson’s runs, LaFleur called a well-timed end-around to receiver Jayden Reed, who got a good block from Wilson and Myers and broke a tackle en route to a 33-yard touchdown run.
But the Eagles came back stronger when LaFleur attempted a 2-point conversion from the 1-yard line after an extra point penalty. Jacobs barely completed the handoff before he was tackled at the line of scrimmage, resulting in the Packers taking a 12-7 lead instead of a 14-7 lead.
“The linebackers took advantage of the gaps and ran down the hill,” Jacobs said. “So kudos to them.”
LaFleur and his coaching staff must now ask themselves why they weren’t able to take advantage of Philadelphia’s aggressiveness earlier. As the game went on, they were occasionally able to use play-action to stop the linebackers and get the ball down the field.
Under normal circumstances, the Packers would be happy if their two running backs rushed for 130 yards on 20 carries, but going forward, they’ll need to get more of those yards as they drive deep into their opponents’ territory.
