3 Reasons The Green Bay Packers Can Upset The Philadelphia Eagles

The Green Bay Packers are 4.5-point underdogs at Philadelphia Sunday afternoon. Few expect the seventh-seeded Packers to defeat the second-seeded Eagles. But there are a handful of ways Green Bay can prevail Sunday. Here are three reasons the Packers can upset the Eagles. Much has, and will be made about Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who led the NFL in rushing yards this year. But Green Bay has its own standout running back in Josh Jacobs. And if the Packers can turn this into a Jacobs game, they have a terrific chance to prevail. Green Bay is 8-1 when Jacobs has at least 18 carries in a game, and 3-5 when he has 17 carries or fewer. Jacobs is averaging 20.2 carries in Green Bay’s 11 wins, and 13.2 carries per game in the Packers’ losses. Jacobs finished sixth in the NFL in rushing yards (1,329), despite carrying the ball just six times in the Packers’ regular season finale against Chicago. The Packers also finished fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (146.8). While the Eagles led the league in total defense (278.4) and were 10th in rushing defense (104.2), the Packers are extremely confident they can run the ball against anybody. “The guys we’ve got in that room, the guys we’ve got running the ball, we’re going to get it done,” left guard Elgton Jenkins said. “We can run it against anybody.” Green Bay must avoid digging an early hole, pound Jacobs 20-plus times and control the clock. If that happens, the Packers will have a real chance to prevail. “I’m not just satisfied with going to the playoffs,” Jacobs said. “I came here to win the Super Bowl. So, for me, that’s the only thing that’s really on my mind. I’m about to give everything that I’ve got to this and see how it could play out.” 2. Keep Jalen Hurts In The Pocket Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts is one of the most dangerous running quarterbacks in football. Hurts averaged 42.0 rushing yards per game this season and is averaging 40.7 rushing yards per game during his five-year career. Hurts is not an elite thrower, though, finishing with just 2,903 passing yards this year — his fewest since becoming a starter in 2021. Green Bay’s game plan in its 34-29, Week 1 loss to the Eagles was to make sure Hurts didn't escape the pocket. The Packers largely succeeded, too, limiting Hurts to 33 rushing yards on 13 carries. Hurts had a decent day through the air, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions, though, helping the Packers win the turnover battle, 3-1. Hurts missed the last two games with a concussion, but is expected to play. Will he be more cautious, though, coming off of his head injury? The Packers would love to slow Hurts on the ground and make him beat them with his arm. If Green Bay can accomplish that, it’s odds of an upset certainly increase. “Obviously I’ve been able to play against him twice a year for a couple years now so I’m a lot familiar with his game and obviously I played with him in college too,” said Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who played with Hurts at Alabama and later against him in the NFC East when he was a member of the New York Giants. “So I’m definitely familiar with his game and the growth that he’s made just over his time period. But I think if we just stick to what we know how to do and how we prepare and our technique I think we’ll be fine.” Green Bay remains the NFL’s youngest team. Most believe the Packers’ window for success with this group has just opened. Green Bay played loose and free a year ago with an even younger roster, when it shocked many by upsetting Dallas in the wild card round and nearly topping San Francisco in the divisional playoffs. Expectations were cranked up for the Packers this year, and they played tight in many big games — going 0-5 against the three NFC teams with the best records. Matt LaFleur must get his team to play more relaxed Sunday than they’ve been much of this season, including a Week 17 loss at Minnesota when Green Bay was tight from the start. Just like 2023, almost no one expects the Packers to prevail Sunday. The pressure is all on Philadelphia. One of LaFleur’s jobs will be getting his team to remember that. “I mean everybody knows in this locker room that we’re that team,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s a secret about that. I really think it’s just blocking out all the outside noise, knowing who we have in this locker room. And like I said before, it’s playoffs. It’s zero-zero. Who cares about the record? “And I really think we have to be confident. You can’t go into the playoffs lacking that confidence because you’ll get beat, so we have one shot at this thing. I told everybody (on Wednesday), we’ve got five days guaranteed left in our season so just go out there and play free, everybody do their job and just go out there and handle business and make plays. That’s all we can do, and go win the game.”