PHILADELPHIA – Green Bay's potential playoff run never really got started Sunday, as the Packers dropped a 22-10 decision to the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card round at Lincoln Financial Field.
Here are five takeaways from the season-ending defeat:
- The first half was just abysmal.
Keisean Nixon fumbled the opening kickoff, which the Eagles turned into a touchdown. Jordan Love threw two interceptions sandwiched around a missed field goal, and the Packers went into halftime with a big goose egg on the scoreboard.
"When you come into somebody else's house against a really good football team, you can't start the way we did," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "It was obviously too much to overcome."
The Packers actually thought they were going to keep the ball on the opening kickoff, as the fumble was reviewed to see if Nixon secured the recovery before getting it taken away by the Eagles.
But it wasn't to be, and it became a huge turnover from which the Packers never really recovered.
"I thought we recovered the ball," LaFleur said. "Just what they showed on the big board, what I was hearing from our guys upstairs … they all thought it was our ball. Obviously the league felt differently."
- The defense hung in as long as it could.
The nightmare of a first half ended just 10-0 thanks to a strong effort on defense, as following the opening touchdown on the short field, Philadelphia's next six possessions – including through the opening drive of the second half – produced just one field goal and five punts.
"Defensively I thought we played winning football," LaFleur said. "Just on offense and on special teams, we had too many mistakes. Give Philly all the credit. They deserve it."
With the offense putting 10 points on the board on its first two drives of the second half, the defense got two chances to get a stop and get it back to the offense with just a one-score deficit.
But the defense couldn't hold up any longer. The Eagles drove 68 yards in five plays for a touchdown to make it 16-3, and then 63 yards in 13 plays for a field goal to make it 19-10, taking nearly the first 7½ minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
By game's end, the league's top running back, Saquon Barkley topped 100 yards with 119 on 25 carries, and QB Jalen Hurts played mistake-free in posting a 111.4 passer rating (13-of-21, 131 yards, two TDs).
- It continued to be a tough slog on offense.
So many what ifs. If Brandon McManus doesn't miss the 38-yard field goal in the first half, just his second miss of the season and the first postseason miss of his career, the margin the rest of the game looks different.
Also, when the Packers finally did score, they blew a chance at what looked like an easy touchdown when Jordan Love's throw to the out-breaking Malik Heath at the front pylon didn't connect on second down.
Heath tripped just a bit when he made his break to the outside, and that cost the Packers four points.
"I thought he threw a good ball," LaFleur said. "It truly is everybody. A little stumble there and we end up just missing it.
"That's kind of how it went tonight. I would say that was a microcosm of the evening."
Both LaFleur and Love commented that the Eagles played a soft zone for much of the game, but the Packers didn't execute well enough to pull them out of it, which would've given them more opportunities possibly to take shots downfield.
"We have to be able to throw some quick game, get the ball out, dink-and-dunk completions, and run the ball, too," Love said. "All those things, we have to do it efficiently and do it well, and find completions."
The Eagles, who had the No. 1-ranked defense in the league this year, created a lot of disruption up front, both in terms of clamping down on running back Josh Jacobs (18 carries, 81 yards, TD) and messing up the timing of the passing game by forcing Love to move away from pressure.
"Collectively we all share part of the blame in that," LaFleur said of the offensive struggles, which carried through the season's last three games. "We have to earn the right to get them out of that soft shell, and we never did."
The final realistic chance ended when Heath's foot came down out of bounds on a short fourth-down throw with five minutes left. Then in desperation, Love (20-of-33, 212 yards, 41.5 rating) threw his third interception on a deep ball to leave the Packers minus-4 in turnovers for the game.
- The injuries piled up.
Left guard Elgton Jenkins (shoulder) went down early, and his two replacements were flagged three times for holding. Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (lower leg) also left the game early.
Receivers Romeo Doubs (concussion) and Jayden Reed (shoulder) also left the game with injuries in the second half, which didn't help an offense trying to find any semblance of rhythm.
Linebacker Quay Walker and center Josh Myers went down with unspecified injuries late, just adding to a miserable evening.
"That's football," LaFleur said. "It's unfortunate and I hate it for our guys that have to battle through that … but there's a standard of performance."
That wasn't met, which LaFleur emphasized was another collective failure.
Doubs, who had recovered from one concussion already this season, was down on the field for an extended time before going to the locker room. LaFleur did say he was feeling good enough to fly home with the team.
- These moments are always tough to swallow.
Whereas last year the Packers perhaps got a little farther than anyone expected them to, going one-and-done certainly leaves a sour taste.
"It's tough," Love said. "You lose a playoff game, we've been here before, and it sucks. It's not fun. Not fun being in that locker room after the game. It just sucks."
The Packers remain a young team that still has plenty to look forward to. But coming up short in a number of big games, including Sunday, is a "tough lesson along the way," according to LaFleur.
"I hurt for our guys. There's a lot of energy and work that goes into this thing," he said. "And it should hurt.
"Hopefully we can use this as fuel to have a great offseason and come back next year ready to rock."
