Eagles Send Green Bay Packing at Lambeau Field

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles got the best of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in their 27 to 13 victory. The win could have been categorized as a moral victory. That is not to be confused with what Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones called the loss to the Denver Broncos a few weeks ago. The Eagles actually won. But there was little to be happy about other than the win itself. Truth be told, it appeared the Green Bay secondary beat themselves, as the first of three touchdown passes from Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles should have been picked off.

The first quarter touchdown pass to wideout DeSean Jackson was underthrown by at least three yards. But the ball bounced off the Packers’ defensive back’s arms right into Jackson’s hands. Both defenders fell and Jackson moonwalked into the end zone. To be fair, it was a heads up play for Jackson, as he had to remain focused on the ball long enough to catch it.

The second touchdown pass was thrown to and caught by wideout Riley Cooper. However, Cooper had to adjust his route by five yards to catch it as he fell into the end-zone. Not exactly the accuracy from Foles we saw last week. Still, he was able to get the ball to his receivers and running back LeSean McCoy was able to pound the ball down the field via the ground game.

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Packer’s linebacker Clay Matthews was present but he did not seem to have much of an impact. With the apparatus on his hand, he looked like a character from a Nintendo Super Mario game. Matthews was a non factor on Sunday. He recorded no tackles, sacks or assists. It makes one wonder if he should have even been on the field.

Things we learned after the Eagles/Packers game.

1. Keep LeSean McCoy healthy no matter the cost. He can and will move the ball for the Eagles when it is needed. Green Bay did not have an answer for him.
2. The Eagles’ defense leaves a lot to be desired. They only allowed 99 yards rushing but they gave up 297 yards passing. Green Bay’s third-string quarterback Scott Tolzien looked pretty good on Sunday despite having very little experience. That should raise a red flag to the Eagle faithful. The Detroit Lions have an outstanding receiver in Calvin Johnson.The Eagles face them in a few weeks. Let’s hope the secondary can improve a little before then.
3. Not sure if Nick Foles is the long term answer at quarterback for the Eagles. But he is the answer for now. Foles has a strong arm and is mostly accurate. Maybe a little more training will be beneficial for him. At this point, one has to wonder if Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly has no other choice but to run with Foles till the end of the season. Who knows? Maybe his consistency and accuracy will improve.

Mathematically, the Eagles are still very much alive in the playoff hunt. This year, there will only be one team from the NFC East going to the playoffs. Since the Cowboys lost on Sunday night, they will need to win four of the next six games to win the division. The Eagles need to win five of the next six. Not impossible. Especially when you are chasing Dallas. They may implode and let the Eagles slide on in. If Dallas’ blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints is any indication, our dream may soon become our reality.