The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, more or less managing to pull out a 22-10 win.
The Eagles had four points in the contest but converted only one of them into points — a Packers fumble on the opening kickoff to help set up Jalen Hurts' pass to Jahan Dotson three plays later.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw two bad interceptions in the second quarter, while Brandon McManus also missed a fairly obvious 38-yard field goal attempt for Green Bay.
Somehow, despite those glaring errors, the Packers trailed by just 10 at halftime as the Eagles' rusty offense — Saquon Barkley aside — failed to turn their dominance into a bigger advantage on the scoreboard.
Green Bay threatened to rally on points in the second half but lost several offensive weapons to injury and their challenge quickly diminished as a result, with Philadelphia safely securing a home tie in next weekend's divisional round.
Their opponents will be either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or one of the Los Angeles Rams or the Minnesota Vikings should the Bucs lose at home to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night.
The Rams' meeting with the Vikings concludes Wild Card weekend on Monday night, Live on Sky Sports NFL From one o'clock on Tuesday morning.
Long live the NFL
Tuesday, January 14 at 1:00 am
Statistics leaders
Green Bay Packers
- Scrolling: Jordan Love, 20/33, 212 yds, 3 INT
- haste: Josh Jacobs, 18 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Jayden Reed, 4 catches, 46 yards
Philadelphia Eagles
- Scrolling: Jalen Hurts, 13/21, 131 yards, 2 TDs
- haste: Saquon Barkley, 25 carries, 119 yards
- Receiving: DeVonta Smith, 4 catches, 55 yards
The Packers finally put their first points on the board on their opening drive of the second half, as McManus this time nailed a shot across the post from 26 yards out.
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert scored after sweeping the Green Bay Packers defender out of the way with not one arm but two stiff arms.
Philadelphia responded immediately, reasserting its dominance as Dallas Goedert brutally weaponized Green Bay cornerback Carrington Valentine not once, but twice on his way into the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.
Josh Jacobs answered Goedert's challenge with a furious run of his own to end the third quarter, as the Packers ran back and mowed down several Eagles defenders on a 32-yard pickup that set up his own goal line to start the fourth.
At that point, it looked like the game might come alive, with Green Bay trailing by just six, but with the likes of Jayden Reed and Romeo Dobbs on the sidelines midway through the game — plus Christian Watson already missing from the receiving corps — a thrilling finale failed to ignite. .
The Eagles moved comfortably away from their opponents with a pair of Jake Elliott scoring goals, before the game was decided by a third Love interception late in the game with the Packers growing desperate.
Summary of grades
How can you beat Barkley?
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley: “I love it. A year ago, I tweeted out while I was sitting on the couch that I needed to get back to playing football in the playoffs, so I'm happy to be here and shout out to my teammates.
“The most important thing in the playoffs is to win and advance – no matter what that looks like. There are some things we can work on and improve.”
Jason Bell from Sky Sports NFL: It was competitive, both defenses showed up but it was about the substitutions – they were key, especially in a game as tightly contested as we were.
“He (Barkley) deserves this, he's offensive, he gives them juice, he gives them life. They realize that for them to get to the Super Bowl, it's about Saquon — how do you beat them when he's rolling?”
Sky Sports NFL's Ndamukong Suh: “That's why I came back to play football with Philadelphia in 2022, an opportunity to get back into the big dance and enjoy those moments. That's what you play the game for, to play in these big games.”
Phoebe Scheckter from Sky Sports NFL: “The turnovers, the penalties, the touchdowns across the board, you can see why (Packers coach) Matt LaFleur was so frustrated with the team at the end. The Packers were very close the whole time, but it came down to who made fewer mistakes in that situation.”
What's next?
In the divisional round, the Eagles will host either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the Los Angeles Rams or the Minnesota Vikings should the Bucs lose at home to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night.
Wild Card Weekend ends Monday night when the Minnesota Vikings take on the Los Angeles Rams from 1 a.m. into the early hours of Tuesday.
Super Bowl LIX takes place Sunday, February 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL Channel.
