Philadelphia Eagles versus Green Bay Packers: 5 Matchups to watch

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 13 tilt with The Pack is loaded with subplots.

Somehow, this feels familiar. The Philadelphia Eagles are in a must-win situation. They have to go on the road to erase a two-game losing streak. The opponent is the Green Bay Packers, led by Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, at historic Lambeau Field.

If the scenario sounds familiar, it’s because it is. That’s the exact same situation that the Birds were in when they traveled to Wisconsin in 2019. This one just happens to come in Week 13 of 2020 as opposed to the early-season shootout they participated in a little over a year ago.

Hopefully, the result will be the same as The Pack will be looking for some revenge and a chance to improve their playoff standing. Philly, on the other hand, will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Here are five matchups for Philadelphia Eagles fans to watch.

1. Darius Slay versus Davante Adams

These two know each other well as Darius Slay spent seven years with longtime Packers’ rival, the Detroit Lions. Can ‘Big Play’ bounce back following an embarrassing showing versus D.K. Metcalf in Week 12? He has had success in covering Davante Adams before.

2. David Bakhtiari versus Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat

Philly’s pass rush has been stellar. Josh Sweat continues to improve. Derek Barnett is quietly having what might be his best run as an Eagle. Too bad the team is losing and not many people are noticing. In Week 12, they’ll share snaps versus one of the better left tackles in the game, Green Bay’s David Bakhtiari.

3. The Eagles offensive line and running game versus the Packers front seven

The goal is simple here. Run the ball! Doug Pederson has been calling games in the same manner that some of us play Madden. No matter how well the running game works or how poorly his competition defends it, he’ll abandon that gameplan in a second if he sees an opportunity to pass.

Green Bay hasn’t played the run well all year. Philly’s elevated Jordan Howard from the practice squad. This might get interesting if Doug is patient.

4. Matt LaFleur versus Jim Schwartz

Much-maligned Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has gotten some nice efforts out of his guys at times this year, especially over the course of the past few weeks. This will be a huge test versus one of the NFL’s more gifted play-callers in Matt LaFleur and one of the game’s best signal-callers, Aaron Rodgers.

5. Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz versus the Eagles

Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz have been the Eagles’ worst enemy at times as they continue to shoot the offense in both feet. The game is simple from an offensive play-calling standpoint. Do more of what your team does well and more of what they struggle to defend (running the ball). Do less of what your team doesn’t do well (constantly dropping your quarterback back to pass behind a makeshift offensive line). We’ll have to wait and see what happens.