The Philadelphia Eagles are onto the Divisional round of the playoffs! While the offense struggled and was stale for most of the game, the defense kept them in the game and led them to victory. Special Teams also played a big role in this win, with the kicking team forcing and controversially recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff, and Jake Elliot scored nine of the team's 22 points, making three 30-yarders.
Surprisingly, the Birds had NO rushing touchdowns, which happened just twice in the regular season. This game was almost the opposite of when these teams faced off in Week 1. There were 63 total points scored in Week 1 and just 32 this week; in Week 1, Love threw for 260 yards and Hurts 278; this week, Love had 212, and Hurts had 131; in Week 1, Hurts had three turnovers, and this week, Love had three. Despite all the differences, the outcome remains the same, with the Eagles coming out victorious in both matchups.
Defense Wins Championships
The Eagles' defensive dominance has carried into the playoffs, holding the Packers offense to ZERO first-half points and allowing just 10 in the second half, allowing just one touchdown that came in the fourth quarter. They held Jordan Love to a 60% completion percentage while throwing for 212 yards, zero touchdowns, and THREE interceptions. Darius Slay was the first to steal a pass off Love with Zack Baun following and Quinyon Mitchell sealing the game with his first career interception!
Nolan Smith had a career game in his second career playoff game, tying his career-high tackles with eight as well as five pressures, two sacks, and two TFLs. Before this game, Smith had never recorded two or more sacks in a game in his young career; it was also the only two sacks the Eagles had in the game. LB Nakobe Dean, who was having a breakout season, tore his patellar tendon and didn't return to the game; it was later announced he was done for the rest of the playoffs, a massive loss for the Birds.
Before leaving the game, he had six tackles and two TFLs. From the looks of it, he was poised for a great playoff run to cap off a great season for him. Reed Blankenship led the team in tackles with 11, Baun and Smith both had eight, and Baun also had a pass deflection. Quinyon Mitchell wasLOCKDOWNN in his first career playoff gam. He even tied his career high in tackles with six.
Offense Needs to be Better
The Eagles' defensive performance is much better because the offense never got going all game. They started the game with a touchdown after being set up in excellent field position by a fumble forced by the kickoff team. It was a three-play drive that ended with an 11-yard DeVonta Smith touchdown. After that, they punted and got a field goal on the next drive. After that, it was a whole lotta nothing, having four straight drives ending in a punt. The Birds ran 14 total plays in those drives, resulting in nine yards. After that, they started to get the hang of it, scoring a touchdown to end the scoring drought, going 68 yards in just five plays, ending with a dominant catch and run touchdown from Dallas Goedert.
After that they had two straight field goals and then a drive to end the game. Saquon Barkley had a 17 yard run to ice the game, but he could've gone the distance if he wanted to.
Final Score: Eagles 22, Packers 10
Dixon's Three Stars
1st Star- Nolan Smith Jr. (8 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 2 TFLs)
2nd Star- Quinyon Mitchell (6 Tackles, 2 Receptions Allowed on 6 Targets, 10 Yards Allowed, 1 PD, 1 INT)
3rd Star- Saquon Barkley (25 Carries, 119 Yards)
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