Newly acquired Jaelan Phillips quickly stood out for the Philadelphia Eagles, making two big plays of the night in his debut in the team’s 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Phillips recovered a Jordan Love fumble to deny Green Bay a scoring opportunity late in the first half and had a 4-and-1 stop late in the fourth quarter. It was the champion’s first trip since being traded from the Miami Dolphins.
With 10:35 remaining in Philadelphia’s only touchdown, Jalen Hurts threw a 36-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, giving the Eagles a 10-0 lead. Green Bay’s only touchdown came on Josh Jacobs’ 6-yard run with 5:49 left.
As time expired, Brandon McManus attempted a 64-yard field goal to tie the game, but fell a few yards short.
With Green Bay’s two consecutive losses, the Packers (5 wins, 3 losses, 1 loss) fell to third place in the NFC North behind Detroit and Chicago. The Packers had the NFC’s best record until losing 16-13 to Carolina on Nov. 2, and would earn the conference’s seventh and final playoff seed if the regular season ends now.
The defense struggled, resulting in the first halftime tie of the season, and there was a severe lack of big plays until the Eagles (7-2) pulled off a one-two punch early in the fourth quarter.
Leader in statistics:
Packers:
Passing: Jordan Love, 20/36, 176 yards Rushing: Josh Jacobs, 21 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD Receiving: Christian Watson, 2 catches, 45 yards
Eagles:
Passing: Jalen Hurts, 15/26, 183 yards, 1 TD Rushing: Saquon Barkley, 22 carries, 60 yards Receiving: DeVonta Smith, 4 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD
With Philadelphia leading 3-0 and facing 3-7 from their own 23, Saquon Barkley caught a pass five yards behind the line of scrimmage, made a spin move past cornerback Carrington Valentine, and raced up the field for a 41-yard gain.
On the next play, Smith made a jumping catch in the end zone past safety Evan Williams.
Barkley finished the night with just 60 yards on 22 carries.
“We have a big spark,” said Barkley, who had just 60 yards on 22 carries. “With this offense and the talent we have on this team, in two or three plays, that’s really crazy. (In) two or three plays, we can go downfield and score.”
After cutting the lead to 10-7, the Packers had another chance in the final seconds.
One drive ended when Jacobs fumbled on fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 44 with a minute and a half left. Phillips and Reed Blankenship teamed up for the stop.
Green Bay had one last chance with 27 seconds left at its own 36 after the Eagles took a long incompletion shot on fourth-and-six instead of punting or going for a long field goal into the wind.
An 18-yard completion from Love to Bo Melton put the Packers past midfield, but McManus was unable to make the longest field goal in team history.
The Packers didn’t get enough revenge against the defending Super Bowl champions.
Philadelphia defeated Green Bay twice last season, including a 22-10 victory in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs.
During the offseason, the Packers proposed banning the tush push that Philadelphia has used so effectively in short-yardage situations in recent years. The bill was supported by 22 of the NFL’s 32 teams, but fell two votes short of the three-quarters majority required for passage.
In fact, the Packers executed the first quarterback sneak of the game, and Love didn’t need a push to make the fourth-and-one. Philadelphia responded with a strong push, giving Hurts a 3-yard gain on third-and-one.
For most of the night, there weren’t many other successful plays by either offense.
It was the first time an NFL game was scoreless at halftime since the Minnesota Vikings’ 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets’ 30-6 win over the Houston Texans on Dec. 10, 2023, both of which had no points scored in the first half.
Philadelphia finally broke through when Jake Elliott’s 39-yard field goal wrapped up the Eagles’ second-half opening series.
What’s next?
The Super Bowl champion Eagles will next face the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football in Week 11 in a preview of a possible NFC Championship Game. The preview will be broadcast live on Sky Sports NFL from 1:20am on Monday morning. Meanwhile, Green Bay will travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants, who just fired head coach Brian Daboll.
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