Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers Both Prove Their Offenses Need Work

It doesn’t matter if you win 10-7 or 40-37 in the NFL. All that matters is that you register the victory.

That’s the way the Philadelphia Eagles viewed their narrow 10-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

It was a turn-back-the-clock game, the kind you might have seen in the 1970s before rules were added to bolster offenses. Neither team scored a touchdown over the first three quarters, and neither quarterback had 100 passing yards going into the final period. If you love defensive football, this was your game.

The Eagles got a Jake Elliott field goal in the third quarter and seized control in the fourth with a pair of explosive plays. First, a little swing pass from Jalen Hurts turned into a 41-yard gain thanks to Saquon Barkley. On the very next play, Hurts connected deep with DeVonta Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass. That was all the offense Philadelphia (7-2) needed to secure their third straight victory.

The defending Super Bowl champions still need to find more consistency on offense. They have topped 30 points three times this season but have scored 20 or fewer four times. Hurts finished Monday with 183 yards, marking the fifth time he’s thrown for fewer than 200 yards this season. On the bright side, he’s thrown 16 touchdown passes against just one interception — stellar ball protection.

Barkley, meanwhile, is nowhere near matching his magical 2,005-yard rushing campaign from last season. He has 579 yards through nine games and is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, well below last year’s 5.8. Against Green Bay, Barkley rushed 22 times for 60 yards, just 2.7 per carry, and has topped 100 yards only once this season.

Philadelphia’s strength remains its defense. They also bolstered their front seven by acquiring linebacker Jaelan Phillips from Miami for a third-round pick. Phillips was ecstatic about the trade, calling it “literally the greatest thing that has happened to me in my whole life, probably,” and made an immediate impact on Monday.

The Packers (5-3-1) have now lost two straight games and trail seven NFC teams in the standings, including two division rivals: the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. Green Bay has scored just 20 points across its two-game skid, while allowing 39 in those losses. Their other recent defeat came against the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.

Frustration is mounting in Green Bay. Quarterback Jordan Love admitted to being frustrated after Monday’s loss, while running back Josh Jacobs expressed impatience with the team’s inability to solve its problems. 

“We’re midway through the season, we can’t just keep saying, ‘All right, we’re going to address it,’” Jacobs said. “We’ve got to find actual answers to our problems. I honestly don’t know what those answers are.”

Jacobs did score the Packers’ only touchdown in the fourth quarter, but he also lost a critical fumble with 1:26 remaining.

Green Bay could get a bounce-back opportunity next week at the New York Giants. After that, they face three straight division foes and five of their final seven games against NFC opponents. Continued struggles during that stretch could leave the Packers watching the postseason from home.