The Philadelphia Eagles ruined Green Bay Packers’ perfect record and got away with a victory from Wisconsin. The final result 34-27 for the guests, who are now 2-2 and are back in the game for winning the NFC East division.
Green Bay had two chances of reaching the guests in the last period. The first one wasn’t converted, although they had four downs with just one yard to the end zone. On all four plays, Aaron Rodgers threw an incomplete pass. Truth to be told, he was in a pretty bad situation, because his primary weapon in this match Davante Adams went out because of an injury. Adams had 10 receptions for 180 yards and was simply unstoppable for the Eagles’ defense.
Meanwhile, the first running option in Green Bay’s attack Jamaal Williams was also injured, already in the first quarter, and he too was unavailable.
The second chance Packers had was at the end of the match. With just 28 seconds to go, Rodgers was intercepted for the first time this season. His pass was picked up in the end zone by Nigel Bradham at second-and-7.
Rodgers admitted that Adams’ absence was crucial here, as he not only presents his first attacking option but was on fire this Thursday night.
“Obviously, having him out there would have been for the better, but we had a lot of chances down the stretch,” Rodgers said. “We moved the ball well all day long. We just struggled in the red zone.”
Green Bay’s QB ended the match with 422 yards, throwing 34 completed passes in 53 attempts for two touchdowns and one interception. He also fumbled the ball in the first half, 17 yards away from Packs’ end zone, which eventually set up a perfect position for the Eagles to score. The guests were perfect once reaching the red zone, converting all 4 trips there, while Green Bay succeeded only three times in 7 chances.
Among the guests, Jordan Howard stood above all other players. He had three touchdowns, two by rushing and one receiving, totaling up to 115 yards from the scrimmage.
“I’m just trying to take advantage of my opportunities,” Howard said about his performance.
Carson Wentz threw three touchdown passes and had 160 yards, 16 of 27. He was a bit slow in the beginning, but as time went by, Philly’s QB started to play better and better. In the moments when he didn’t play well, his running backs were delivering a solid job, and the Eagles had 176 rushing yards compared to just 77 of the home team.
Of course, the defense carried out a lot of weight on its shoulders, and that needs to be also acknowledged. Besides Howard, Alshon Jeffrey and Dallas Goedert also had one touchdown each. Jimmy Graham, Geronimo Allison, and Aaron Jones scored for the home team.
The Packs are now 3-1, and are heading for Dallas in the next round. For now, the Cowboys are perfect, but they have a tough match this week against the Saints in New Orleans.
The Eagles will face the New York Jets at home.
