Packers vs Eagles Prediction: Top NFC Franchises Face Off in Key Playoff Bout (Jan 12)

• The Packers lost to the Bears in their regular season finale, falling by a score of 24-22.
• Philadelphia improved to 12-1 over the last 13 weeks, following a 20-13 win over the Giants.
• These two teams last faced off back in Week 1 of the season, in a game the Eagles won 34-29.

The NFL postseason is here! Wild Card Week is underway with a pair of Sunday games. Our Packers vs Eagles prediction showcases a clash between two teams capable of making deep postseason runs.

Packers Aiming to End Losing Skid

The Packers ended the season on a two-game losing streak, and lost three of their last five games. It wasn’t a collapse by any means, but the lack of consistency dropped Green Bay to third place in a hyper-competitive NFC North division.

They drew a rematch with the 14-3 Eagles in the Wild Card round, a brutally tough opening matchup. Even so, the Packers nearly defeated the Eagles in Week 1 and have seen some notable improvements on defense since then.

The defense’s ability to slow down A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley will definitely be the key factor for Green Bay’s chances of pulling off the upset. That being said, they also need QB Jordan Love to be at his absolute best to have a chance of keeping this one close.

Love is more evidence to the belief that benching a QB for their first season is the best way to develop them. Patrick Mahomes emerged from this strategy and teams have continued to use it up through this year with the Patriots and Drake Maye. Jordan Love finished the regular season ranked 5th in the NFL in QBR.

Eagles Enter Playoffs Dangerous Once Again

The Eagles are in the postseason for the fourth consecutive season. They’ve made it in seven of the last eight years, with two Super Bowl appearances in that span. After a disappointing elimination in the first round last year, Philadelphia will be well aware of their vulnerability in this game.

Fortunately, they were able to rest their starters last week. When the Eagles win 13 or more games and rest their starters, they have made the Super Bowl 100% of the time. This year’s 14-3 record ties their 2022-23 total when they came up short against Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

With their full squad rested, the Eagles should have no trouble improving on their 9-point total from last year’s Wild Card round. They have Saquon Barkley this time around, who rushed for over 2,000 yards in his first season in Philadelphia. If Barkley is able to get going, the Eagles will be nearly impossible to shut down on offense.

Barkley thrived in a much better situation in Philadelphia, averaging a career-high 5.8 yards per carry. The threat of Jalen Hurts either running the ball, dumping it off to Barkley, or unloading it down the field to Brown and Smith makes it very difficult for opposing teams to come up with a way to slow them down.

Packers vs Eagles Prediction: Packers Pull off Upset

Despite all of the things going for Philadelphia on offense, their defense is a legitimate concern. In their last matchup against a playoff team, they gave up 36 points in a loss to the Commanders. In the seven games played against teams that made the postseason, the Eagles allowed 24 points per game.

Expect Green Bay to reach that total with ease, putting pressure on Philly to abandon their ground-and-pound game plan and try to compete through the air. We see the Packers pulling off the upset in a close and high-scoring matchup. We’ll say Green Bay wins it, 30-27.

Tags:
• NFL Playoffs