PHILADELPHIA – The Packers talked all week of the importance of a fast start to their NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles and came up with anything but.
Green Bay stayed within striking distance of the Eagles but four turnovers, a slow offensive start, and no takeaways of its own underscored a 22-10 loss Sunday to No. 2 seed Philadelphia in front of 69,879 at Lincoln Financial Field.
Five key players also went down with injuries: receivers Romeo Doubs (concussion evaluation) and Jayden Reed (shoulder), left guard Elgton Jenkins (shoulder) and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (lower leg) and center Josh Myers (leg).
Despite all that, the Packers trailed by just six points after running back Josh Jacobs scored a 1-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. But every time it looked like Green Bay might mount a rally, the Eagles mounted a response.
"It's almost like you're close enough but not quite," said Jacobs, who finished with 121 total yards on 21 touches. "Every game in the playoffs is gonna come down to execution. Teams are all evenly matched. It's about who's gonna execute the most. Who's gonna be more physical. And when it's time to make that play, who's gonna make the play."
The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, putting the ball in the hands of Green Bay's two-time All-Pro kickoff returner Keisean Nixon, who fumbled off a helmet-to-helmet hit from former Packers linebacker Oren Burks.
It appeared as though Nixon might have recovered his fumble, but official Brad Allen gave possession to the Eagles. The league office in New York also reviewed the turnover but didn't change the ruling.
Philadelphia parlayed the field position into a three-play, 28-yard scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Jahan Dotson.
"It's tough. It's part of the game, though," safety Xavier McKinney said. "It's not gonna go perfectly. It's not always going to go how you want it to go. Turnovers are going to happen. Sudden change is always going to happen in this game. We gotta do a good job of going out there and adjusting to sudden change."
The Packers' defense actually held its ground for the most part against Hurts and 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley. Despite Jordan Love throwing two interceptions in the first half, the Packers' defense forced punts in both sudden-change situations.
In fact, there was a stretch midgame in which the Eagles gained just nine total yards over four series.
Unfortunately, Green Bay's offense had difficulty gaining any traction early on. The offense had 13 net yards in three first-quarter series while Brandon McManus missed a 38-yard field goal between Love's first two interceptions.
The Packers engineered a 14-play, 62-yard drive in the third quarter but stalled out at the Philadelphia 9-yard line, settling for a 30-yard McManus field goal that cut the Eagles' lead to 10-3 at the time.
It came at a cost, as Reed dislocated his shoulder on a 13-yard catch during the drive – after already losing Doubs. The Packers finished with just three healthy receivers: Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath.
"You always gotta fight to the end really," Reed said. "As bad as that game looked, we were down by six in the fourth quarter. …That's the game of football. That's this league. That's why you gotta finish all four quarters."
For as much as the Eagles sputtered throughout Sunday's game, it responded with points both times the Packers scored. After McManus' 30-yard field goal, Dallas Goedert scored a 24-yard touchdown on the following possession.
After Jacobs pulled Green Bay within one possession in the fourth quarter, the Eagles tacked on two more Jake Elliott field goals to retake a two-score lead. Both scores were aided by unnecessary roughness penalties on the Packers.
Offensively, the Packers turned the ball over on downs at their own 41 and Love was picked off by Quinyon Mitchell on a deep ball to the end zone.
It all added up to Green Bay's third consecutive loss to end the 2024-25 season and a quick exit from the postseason. Head Coach Matt LaFleur's message afterward was to hold onto that feeling.
"Sick. Mad. Every emotion you could feel," said defensive end Rashan Gary when asked about the loss. "We work for this all offseason, all OTAs and all camp to punch this ticket to the playoffs and come up short. Everybody … wants to hold up that Lombardi Trophy. We came up short this year. The message is hold onto that feeling."
