It certainly wasn’t pretty, but it’s a well-known football adage that the war is won in the trenches.
The Philadelphia Eagles did just that in their wild-card weekend win over the Green Bay Packers, using their defence and run game to put down the Green Bay Packers 22-10 on Sunday.
Saquon Barkley, the star of the season for the Eagles, showed out in his Philadelphia playoff debut, running roughshod through the Packers’ defence for 119 yards on the ground on 25 attempts.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts followed it up with a steady showing from under centre, using a clean pocket to throw for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
The Eagles looked to be in control from the first play, forcing a fumble from Packers kick returner Keisean Nixon on the opening kickoff to start the offence up with some stellar field position. Hurts used that spot, and a dominant performance from his offensive line, to find Jahan Dotson in the back of the endzone for the first score of the game, only a minute and a half into the showdown.
Then in the second quarter, the Eagles kept Packers QB Jordan Love at bay, intercepting two of his balls in the frame and building up a 10-0 lead by halftime.
Though the Packers inched back into the game, utilizing an equally impressive rushing performance from Josh Jacobs, a flurry of injuries to the team’s receiving corps ultimately made it too high a hill for the NFC North squad to climb.
With the win, the Eagles advance to the divisional round, where they await their next opponent. If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, they’ll face Philly, but if the Commanders win, the Eagles will take on the winner of the Minnesota Vikings-L.A. Rams game on Monday night.
More to come.
