The Green Bay Packers are headed on the road for a Wild Card weekend showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL’s leading rusher, Saquon Barkley. Sunday’s game marks the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 2010.
The Packers and Eagles met in Week 1 when Philadelphia won 34-29 in the NFL’s first-ever game in South America.
That night, Green Bay and Philadelphia traded blows through four quarters. Barkley totaled 132 yards from scrimmage, while Jayden Reed had a 70-yard receiving touchdown and a 33-yard rushing touchdown. The Packers and Eagles combined for four takeaways, and Jordan Love injured his MCL with just five seconds left in the game.
Green Bay’s inability to stop committing self-inflicted wounds was their downfall in that game. They only scored six points on three red-zone trips and converted only one of five opportunities inside the 25-yard line into a touchdown. The Packers settled for field goals four times, leaving 19 points on the board in a game they lost by just five.
The Packers have scored a touchdown on 52.94% of their red-zone trips in away games this season, ranking 22nd. They finished 12th last year despite having a first-year starter at quarterback and a revamped group of wide receivers and tight ends.
Green Bay’s red-zone issues extended beyond the Brazil game. In their Week 11 win over the Chicago Bears, they scored touchdowns on three of five red-zone trips but failed to convert on two chances inside Chicago’s 10-yard line. After 11 weeks, they ranked 27th in red-zone efficiency, scoring on just 19 of 39 trips.
To survive Lincoln Financial Field, the Packers must improve beyond their 22nd-ranked red-zone efficiency on the road.
Philadelphia’s offense leads the NFL in EPA per rush, ranks top five in EPA per pass, and sits in the top seven in EPA per play. They have the seventh-best scoring offense, the league’s leading rusher, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside, and a top-five offensive line in pass blocking and run blocking.
Green Bay allowed 34 points the last time It played Philadelphia, with a healthy Jaire Alexander. Without Alexander on Sunday, Brown and Smith will face Carrington Valentine, Keisean Nixon, and Eric Stokes, a matchup that doesn’t favor Green Bay.
The Eagles have averaged over 25 points per game at home this season. They will move the ball and score points. Keeping up with Philadelphia will be challenging if Green Bay settles for field goals instead of turning red-zone trips into touchdowns.
Former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett introduced the term “Gold Zone” in 2020 to emphasize Green Bay’s dominance in the red zone. He fully embraced the theme, even dressing as Austin Powers villain Johann van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, and exclaiming, “I love goooooold!” That season, the Packers led the NFL with 44 touchdowns on 55 trips, an 80% success rate.
Several factors fueled Green Bay’s red-zone dominance in 2020: Aaron Rodgers playing at an MVP level, Davante Adams in his prime, a strong offensive line, and creative play-calling from Matt LaFleur and Hackett. Everything was in place, but David Bakhtiari’s season-ending knee injury on New Year’s Eve arguably stood as the biggest obstacle between the Packers and a Super Bowl appearance.
Rodgers, Adams, and Hackett are gone, but LaFleur remains one of the NFL’s sharpest offensive minds. There’s no substitute for time in the film room to fix Green Bay’s red-zone issues. If the Packers come out firing against Philly, we could be in for a shootout in the City of Brotherly Love.
