Test Time

[time2rock]

Test Time

Posted: January 13th, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

The Packers went 11-6 this season, with only one bad loss. They dropped the regular season finale to the Bears. Their other five losses were to Detroit, Minnesota and Philly. The Packers finished third in DVOA rankings, which judge teams on how they played statistically rather than just wins and losses. Green Bay was one of the best teams in the league. And now they’re done.

The NFL playoffs are the ultimate test. Pass or fail. There is no subjectivity. Teams find out how good they are in black and white. As good as the Packers season was, they went 2-5 against playoff teams, beating only the Rams and Texans. Going up against the Eagles gave them a chance to find out where they stood. They lost so they head to the offseason knowing they must get better. They can study the tape and their roster to find out where they need to improve.

The Eagles went 5-2 against playoff teams this year, showing how good they were during the regular season. The Eagles can add Sunday’s win over the Packers to that resume. Next Sunday the Eagles will get another test.

As flawed as the offense looked against Green Bay, the Eagles still won by 12. The Packers never got closer than six points after the initial TD. The Eagles didn’t dominate, but they did control the game. The defense was dominant. The offense was timely, and also protected the ball well. The Eagles also won the STs battle.

This is a good team. A damn good team.

You can’t ignore the sloppiness from Sunday, but also can’t obsess on it. Last year the Texans had the biggest margin of victory in the wild card round and the biggest margin of defeat in the divisional round. We all remember the Eagles struggling to beat the Falcons 15-10 in 2017 and then destroying the Vikings 38-7.

Jalen Hurts didn’t put up big numbers. The offense didn’t look great. But let’s also keep things in context. The Eagles ran for 169 yards and played great defense. Hurts threw for 2 TDs and made plays when they were needed. That formula has basically worked all year long. The Eagles don’t need Hurts to throw for 300 yards until they need him to. If the offense had clicked on Sunday, the game would have been a blowout. You don’t want to let teams hang around, but winning big is more of a luxury than a necessity.

The other key that we have to mention is the Packers defense. They were 6th in scoring defense and 5th in yards allowed. In 6 of the previous 7 games, Green Bay held teams to 83 or fewer rushing yards. The Packers had the youngest defense in the NFL so they were more vulnerable in the opener than on Sunday. That defense got better and better as the season wore on. They played well in Philly.

I would expect the Eagles offense to be better next week. If things go well, there could be a showdown with Detroit and the offense will need to have a big day.

*****

Remember when the Eagles knocked out the Niners QBs in the NFC championship game? Lots of Niners players and some in the media talked about how unfair it was for them not to have their QBs in the game. They seemed to gloss over the fact that the Eagles knocked those guys out. If they had weird injuries, I would have gotten their point. That isn’t close to what happened.

I bring this up because a few people are talking about the Packers injuries from Sunday as something to detract from the Eagles win. What if they didn’t lose their LG? What if they didn’t lose a couple of receivers? What if Josh Jacobs didn’t get banged up? So on and so forth.

The Eagles did that.

Nolan Smith took out Elgton Jenkins. Smith is about 235 pounds. He took out a 315-pound OL.

DBs took out the receivers. Jacobs was tackled hard. None of this was dirty. The Eagles were just a physical, violent team. That started with Oren Burks hit on the opening kickoff and lasted all game long.

It was great to see that after watching the Eagles performance in Tampa in the wild card round last year. That was embarrassing. That was soft. That team was ready for the season to be over.

The Packers would have been better if their players didn’t get hurt. The Eagles would have loved for Nakobe Dean to stay healthy for the whole game. Injuries are part of the game (the worst part).

Any unbiased observer could see the Eagles were the better team on Sunday. They were also more physical. That’s part of who they are this season.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/01/test-time-2/