Eagles dispatch Packers and advance to divisional round

PHILADELPHIA — In a game where quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing game struggled, the Philadelphia Eagles relied on their top-ranked defense to fend off the Green Bay Packers. 22-10 in the wild card round of the playoffs on Sunday.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love had not thrown an interception since Nov. 17 against the Chicago Bears, a streak spanning more than seven games, but he had two passes intercepted in the first half, including the All-Pro at the last minute. linebacker Zack Baun.

The Eagles defense finished the regular season first in yards allowed per play (4.7) and second in points allowed per game (17.8). Vic Fangio’s unit stifled a Packers offense that was missing wide receiver Christian Watson (torn ACL) and lost more players along the way, including fellow wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

Hurts was out of sync after missing the final two games of the regular season due to a concussion. Receiver AJ Brown also wasn’t his usual dominant self (one catch for 10 yards) after missing two days of practice this week with a knee injury.

The Eagles proved during the regular season that they are good enough to win even when one area of ​​their operation isn’t working, and they proved they can do it in the playoffs when the competition is tougher.

The offense will have to improve to keep the season going.

Surprising Statistic: The sores went 90 minutes between completed passes before warming up late in the third quarter. He went 6 of 13 for 39 passing yards before going 3 of 3 for 61 yards on a drive that began with 5:46 left in the third quarter. Tight end Dallas Goedert capped the drive with a 24-yard, stiff-arm touchdown catch.

Fundamental game: Trailing by nine points midway through the fourth quarter, the Packers needed a scoring drive to keep hope alive. It looked like Love completed a pass on fourth-and-3 to receiver Malik Heath, but Heath fell on the catch out of bounds for a fumble.

Most surprising performance: Former Packers linebacker Oren Burks set the tone for the game with a big hit on returner Keisean Nixon on the opening kickoff, fumbling the ball for the Eagles to take the ball and lead to seven points. Burks also replaced Nakobe Dean, who left in the first half with a knee injury, on defense and had five tackles. — Tim McManus

For most of Sunday’s 22-10 loss, the Packers defense did its part.

The offense and special teams, not so much.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Packers lost a playoff game on Sunday in almost the same way they fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 divisional round.

In that game, the Packers were the No. 1 seed.

This time, they were the No. 7 seed trying to upset the No. 2 seed Eagles. The Packers pulled off the same 2-7 upset in last year’s playoffs when they beat the Dallas Cowboys. But that season they came into the playoffs with momentum, winning six of their final eight regular-season games. This season, they limped into a two-game losing streak.

It didn’t help that Love finished the game without his top three receivers. After Watson suffered a torn ACL in the regular-season finale, Doubs (evaluated for a concussion) and Jayden Reed (shoulder) left in the second half. Love was 6-for-6 on passes to Reed and Doubs before they left, but Love had little success elsewhere. He finished the game going 20 of 33 for 212 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Packers fell to 0-6 against the NFC’s top teams, losing twice each to the Eagles, Lions and Vikings this season.

Worrying trend: If it’s a playoff game, that usually means the Packers will have shortcomings on special teams. The game began with Nixon’s fumble return and then Brandon McManus, who had missed a kick all season, missed wide from 38 yards out in the second quarter with the Packers trailing 10-0. Last year’s playoff loss to the 49ers included a missed field goal attempt with 6:21 remaining. In their 2021 divisional loss to the 49ers, the Packers had a field goal attempt and a punt attempt blocked, the latter of which was returned for a touchdown.

Worrying trend II: The Packers fell to 1-12 with Love as the starter when they trailed by at least 10 points, including playoffs. The only win was against the Saints in Week 3 last season, when they turned a 17-0 deficit into an 18-17 victory. Since then, Love has lost 11 consecutive such games.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Packers had no viable plan after former Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. First, they tried rookie sixth-round pick Travis Glover, who had played just 13 snaps all season. Glover lasted only 20 snaps and was removed after receiving three penalties: two holds and an ineligible infield violation. Kadeem Telfort replaced him at the two-minute warning of the first half and was called for a penalty in the third quarter. — Rob Demovsky