By Eric Goska
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| (screenshot from NFL Game Pass) |
The early bird gets the worm.
On Sunday, that quick-striking
fowl hailed from Philadelphia. The Eagles, the No. 2 seed in the NFC, swooped in
at the outset, forcing a turnover that led to a touchdown as they soared past
the No. 7 Packers 22-10 in a Wild Card game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Every NFL team wants to start
fast. The Eagles provided a crash course in how to do that.
Philadelphia linebacker Oren
Burks forced Keisean Nixon to fumble when he slammed into the return specialist
on the opening kickoff. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. recovered, and the Eagles were in
business at the Green Bay 28-yard line.
Saquon Barkley gained 17 on
two carries to reach the 11. From there, Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson in the
end zone and Philadelphia went up 7-0 after just 99 seconds of play.
The Eagles have played 52
postseasons games since entering the NFL in 1933. Only once before – that in
January 2003 on a 20-yard Duce Staley run with 52 seconds elapsed – has
Philadelphia scored earlier in a playoff game.
The Packers have played 64
postseason games. Only once previously had they surrendered points so close to
the start of a contest.
On Dec. 26, 1965, Colts
cornerback Lenny Lyles forced Bill Anderson to fumble after the end had snagged
a Bart Starr pass. Don Shinnick scooped up the loose ball and reached paydirt
with just 21 seconds having come off the clock.
Green Bay rallied to win that
game, 13-10 in overtime. No such comeback took place in Philadelphia.
The Packers, unable to get
their offense in gear, trailed for 58 minutes, 21 seconds. Never have they floundered
longer in a playoff game, coming closest on Jan. 9, 2005 when they played from
behind for 58:20 in a 31-17 loss to the Vikings.
Those early birds from the
City of Brotherly Love got their initial first down on their first offensive
play. They scored a touchdown two plays later.
The Packers, meanwhile, went
scoreless in the first half for only the fifth time in the playoffs. They notched
their first points – a third-quarter field goal by Brandon McManus – with 39:14
already in the books.
That’s a long wait. The
longest in franchise history. The previous mark had been 36:16 when the 49ers
drubbed them 37-20 behind Raheem Mostert’s 220 rushing yards on Jan. 19, 2020.
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| Jordan Love (photo by Eric Goska) |
The reasons the Pack failed in
Philly are many. One shortcoming: a passing game that established an all-time low.
Jordan Love completed 20 of
33 passes for 212 yards. He failed to throw a touchdown pass while pitching
three interceptions to earn a passer rating of 41.5.
No passer in Packers playoff
history (minimum 15 attempts) had ever sunk so low. Scott Hunter had come the
closest with a 52.4 in a 16-3 loss to the Redskins in 1972.
Since 2000, 50 quarterbacks
have earned a passer rating below 50 in a playoff game per Stathead at Pro
Football Reference. Their combined record in those games was a dismal 7-43.
Love, it appears, was at a
loss when his team crossed midfield. In plays run on Green Bay’s side of the
field, he completed 17 of 21 throws for 201 yards and one pick (89.6 rating).
In Eagles territory, No. 10 completed just 3 of 12 passes for 11 yards with two
picks (0.0 rating).
This isn’t to say Love lost
the game for Green Bay. Anyone who saw what transpired can recite the litany of errors the Packers made in all three phases of the game.
But Love and the offense needed
to play better, even after losing receivers Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed to
injury in the third quarter. Because they did not, Green Bay spent what seemed
like an eternity in football purgatory.
Extra point: Hurts became the
first quarterback to throw a touchdown pass on his initial pass attempt against
Green Bay in a playoff game. Two non-quarterbacks – running back Dan Reeves in
the Ice Bowl and punter Jon Ryan in Seattle – reached the end zone on their
first and only throws in 1967 and 2015, respectively.
The four playoff games in which the Packers trailed for more than 55 minutes.
|
Trail |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
|
58:21 |
Jan. 12, 2025 |
Eagles |
GB lost, 10-22 |
|
58:20 |
Jan. 9, 2005 |
Vikings |
GB lost, 17-31 |
|
57:41 |
Dec. 26, 1965 |
Colts |
GB won, 13-10 (OT) |
|
56:07 |
Jan. 8, 1995 |
Cowboys |
GB lost, 9-35 |
on December 26, 1965 Green Bay was GIFTED that game by a botched/bogus referee call on Don Chandler's field goal miss near the end of regulation which sent a 10-7 game into overtime.
ReplyDeleteBW ...
ReplyDeleteOther than Jacobs, this Packers offense was manhandled by the Philly defense. I feel they will have to get way more physical on both sides of the ball before Love can bring them a championship. Dixon felt like he recovered his own fumble but the Eagles got home cooking.
The turnovers were the difference.