Arthur from Eau Claire, WI
I am probably in the minority, but I believe the Packers can beat the Eagles. Why? Simply because any team at any time can beat any team at any time. I don’t place blame for a loss on any player, coach or referee, same with a win. My key to win is mistake-free play by the O- and D-lines. Is that a reasonable key?
The Packers can beat the Eagles because they’re a good freaking football team. But yes, my biggest key to winning this game is winning in the trenches. Philadelphia has playmakers galore but you gotta match its physicality.
How can the Pack go into Philly with momentum? What is the best way to contain Saquon Barkley?
Momentum doesn’t matter right now. The Packers can’t rupture. Green Bay did a solid job of containing Barkley early during both its game against the New York Giants in December 2023 and the 2024 opener in Brazil before Barkley started breaking off big runs. In fact, Barkley had a combined 49 yards on 18 carries (2.7 yards per carry) in the first half of those two games compared to 140 yards on 26 attempts (5.4 ypc) in the second. You have to tip your cap to Barkley, too. Part of his brilliance is how he wears down a defense until he finally breaks off a big run.
It seems to me the Packers will need to control the clock and play mistake-free football to pull off a win in Philly. Does that mean we should expect to see Josh Jacobs getting 24-plus carries and more than 100 yards in order to win?
I don’t know what the magic number of touches for Jacobs is, but he’ll be ready for whatever the Packers give him. I’d agree the more yards Jacobs produces, the better the Packers’ chances at coming out of Philly with a win.
With Minnesota throwing us a curveball of man vs. zone, do the Packers throw the Eagles a knuckleball? If we can start with the ball, do we come out slinging the ball and run no-huddle? I feel the Packers’ best chance of winning on Sunday is to get out early and not have to rely on our D to stop every drive in the fourth quarter to pull out a win. Or is there something else they can do to put Eagles on their heels early?
Nothing would surprise me, but running a pass-heavy, no-huddle offense would be a bold strategy to take against the league’s best pass defense. My approach, perhaps antiquated, would be to run it right at Philadelphia. That’s what the Packers have done best all season.
The silver lining from the loss to the Bears is that it cost the Packers nothing in terms of playoff seeding, and the Bears slipped back a few slots in the April draft. So on to Philly! The Packers moved the ball well in the opener against the Eagles. Is there anything that can be taken from that experience when building the game plan for this weekend?
Explosive plays are great, but the Packers must finish drives. Like Detroit, Philadelphia boasts one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL. It’s gonna take more than field goals to beat the Eagles.
Will Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker be a complementary pair or competitors for a single spot? It would be well served for the team as a pair and hope Walker benefits from Cooper’s instinct.
The Packers want those two playing off one another, not against each other. Cooper, Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson all have different strengths, which is why all four have been part of the defensive plan this year.
Brandon McManus was successful right from the get-go. To me, he was as important a signing as Xavier McKinney and Jacobs. Why did Brian Gutekunst not negotiate a new longer-term contract sooner? Now McManus will be a free agent at the end of the year and will surely cost us more money to keep him. What am I missing?
I mean, the guy’s not going to sign any piece of paper you place in front of him. There are no Scottie Pippen deals anymore. McManus came to Green Bay on a one-year contract, looking for a chance to restart his NFL career. He’s done that and likely will want to get paid for it. Hopefully, McManus is back, but extensions have to make sense for both sides. That’s just how the game is played.
We were rolling after the Saints game three weeks ago and just clinched a playoff berth. Is it possible Matt LaFleur had vanilla game plans for the following two losses to keep some plays off tape knowing that it was possible to see Minnesota again, plus not having two absolutely have-it-type games? I know play to win the game, but gamesmanship matters, and we were in the dance without a shot at the division title. I still believe we haven’t seen the best from this team.
I don’t know about all that, but LaFleur and his teams have done their best work when everyone counts them out. Last year, the youngest team in football came up a few points short of upending the eventual NFC champion. Detroit and Philadelphia are the talk of the town right now. Let’s see if the Packers can change the topic of conversation.
Which players will be playing for us on Sunday that did not play in Brazil? What impact do you expect them to have?
Plenty has changed since then. Evan Williams only played special teams. Edgerrin Cooper and Carrington Valentine barely played on defense and now are two of the unit’s biggest playmakers. Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby were scratches in that game and now factor into the pass rush. As previously noted, McManus has had a major impact on the kicking game, as well.
