January 07, 2025
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
Saquon Barkley and the Eagles beat the Packers all the way back in Week 1 in Brazil, but both are far different teams now.
The Eagles head into the playoffs up against the same team they faced all the way back in Week 1 in Brazil: The Green Bay Packers.
But the players know it's about to be a much different ballgame on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
"Everyone makes their adjustments throughout the season, tries to figure out who they are as a team – as a defense, as an offense," linebacker Zack Baun said after the regular season wrapped a couple of days ago. "You throw in wrinkles here and there and you see what sticks. We've changed and I know they have, too."
The Eagles, at a franchise-best 14-3, are coming in as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff bracket. The Packers, at 11-6, stand as the No. 7 seed after back-to-back losses to the Vikings and Bears to close out their schedule slipped them behind the Commanders in the overall conference standings.
The Birds, meanwhile, won 12 of their last 13 games. They have Saquon Barkley as the NFL's rushing champ, top receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and presumably a returning Jalen Hurts as quarterback on offense, along with what's been a stellar Vic Fangio-coordinated defense that has set the team as one of the league's juggernauts – a relatively healthy one, too.
And they'll be the favorites going into the Wild Card round this weekend at around 4.5 points per several sportsbooks. Here's a look...
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -4.5 | GB +185 PHI -225 | 45.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -4.5 | GB +176 PHI -210 | 45.5 |
| BetRivers | PHI -4.5 | GB +190 PHI -235 | 45.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -4.5 | GB +195 PHI -250 | 45.5 |
| ESPN BET | PHI -4.5 | GB +190 PHI -225 | 45.5 |
The Eagles rested their starters for their Week 18 finale this past Sunday, while Tanner McKee and the reserves took care of the Giants on the field, so Barkley, Brown, Smith, Lane Johnson, and a bevy of other key names will all be ready to go.
Hurts presents a question mark since he's been out the past two weeks with a concussion, and hasn't practiced at all, but the general thought is that he will play.
Hurts is still in the NFL's concussion protocol, head coach Nick Sirianni said after the Giants game on Sunday, and offered no new update on the QB the day after when he had his video call debriefing with the media. Wednesday, when the team returns to practice and the first injury report has to be put out, will be the major tell for Hurts' status.
MORE: The Eagles' odds to win Super Bowl LIX
Packers QB Jordan Love is also shrugging off an injury scare after a hit to his throwing arm during Green Bay's regular season finale against the Bears left him without feeling in his hand. He had to exit the game and the Packers lost, but Love said afterward that he was confident he would be ready again to face the Eagles, per The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.
Love will be short of receiver Christian Watson, however, as he suffered a torn ACL against the Bears and is done for the rest of the year.
That Packers, though, do still boast their own top running back in Josh Jacobs, who ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and second-year receiver Jayden Reed, who scored against the Eagles back in Week 1 and has collected five more touchdowns and 857 yards receiving in total since.
So Green Bay does have their threats, but the Eagles are equipped to match.
"We're definitely confident that we're going in there, we're gonna play a physical game, and at the end of the day, scheme is gonna take care of scheme, physicality is gonna take care of physicality," nose tackle Jordan Davis said. "We're just gonna see where the chips lie."
MORE: Jurgens, Baun, Eagles react to playoff matchup vs. Packers
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