Keys to the Game - Sept. 26

The Green Bay Packers (3-0) host the Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) at 7:20 p.m. Thursday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The game will be shown on FOX and NFL Network.

COACHES

Green Bay — Matt LaFleur, first season (3-0). Philadelphia — Doug Pederson, fourth season (30-21).

HISTORY

Packers lead 26-14, including wins in five of the last six games.

WHEN THE PACKERS HAVE THE BALL

LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers don’t have much time to sort out what’s wrong on offense.

While the Packers scored a season-high 27 points Sunday in beating Denver, 14 of those points were set up by their turnover-producing defense. The Packers couldn’t run the ball (77 yards, 3.3 average) and they couldn’t move the chains (2-of-9 on third down).

Getting that running game going against the Eagles won’t be easy. Philadelphia is second in the league in terms of rushing yards allowed per game (57) and yards allowed per carry (2.95).

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s defense is fueled by a depleted but still-powerful front four, with ends Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham and All-Pro tackle Fletcher Cox being first-round picks.

Injuries, however, have depleted the defensive tackle rotation. Malik Jackson, a former Pro Bowler, was added in the offseason, but he’s out for the season with a foot injury sustained in Week 1. The next man up was Tim Jernigan, but he suffered a broken foot in Week 2.

So, it’s Hassan Ridgeway, who was acquired from the Colts in a draft-weekend trade, as the starter alongside Cox. Akeem Spence went from out of the league to the first guy off the bench.

At linebacker, Nigel Bradham is flanked by Nathan Gerry and Zach Brown. Bradham has 15 tackles and Brown has 14, including a team-high seven vs. Detroit.

In the secondary, Sidney Jones and Ronald Darby are the corners with Avonte Maddox manning the slot. Darby and Jones each have one interception, and Darby has a team-high five passes defensed. Darby, however, dropped out of the Detroit game with a hamstring injury. It would be a big loss if he can’t play. According to Sports Info Solutions, he’s allowed a career catch rate of just 52%.

Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod are the veteran safeties. In his 11th season, Jenkins remains a premier player with career totals of 17 interceptions and 15 forced fumbles.

While they’ve delivered strong run defense, the pass rush has been nonexistent. Last season, the Eagles had 44 sacks and a league-leading 133 quarterback hits. Through three games of this season, they have two sacks and 17 quarterback hits — a pace of 11 sacks and 91 hits. In Sunday’s loss to the Lions, the Eagles had zero sacks and three quarterback hits.

“It’s going to happen. Trust me,” Cox said last week. “We’re in no panic in the D-line room about getting sacks. We’ve hit the quarterback a lot in the past two weeks. The sacks will come and when they come, they come in bunches. We’ve got to be patient about it and not force it, and we’ll get there.”

Thursday’s game — and the season — might depend on it. The Eagles’ pass defense was horrible last season, and it’s off to a poor start this season. Philadelphia is 29th in passing defense with 293.7 passing yards per game. Whether Green Bay’s offense is good enough to take advantage is anyone’s guess.

The Packers are 27th in passing yards per game and 25th in passing yards per attempt. Rodgers is 24th in completion percentage and 24th in yards per attempt, but he hasn’t thrown a home interception in 253 attempts.

“It’s very positive to be up here again, 3-0, and still haven’t played a 60-minute game on offense yet where we’re clicking the entire game,” Rodgers said. “We’ve played three obviously good defenses and good coordinators, but that’s the NFL these days. We don’t have any excuses. We’ve just got to be a little more consistent.”

WHEN THE EAGLES HAVE THE BALL

While the Eagles are 1-2, they potentially are two plays from being 3-0.

Against Atlanta in Week 2, Nelson Agholor had the potential game-winning touchdown go through his hands. On fourth-and-15 from Detroit’s 45-yard line Sunday, rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside had a pass go through his fingers around the Lions’ 5.

With veteran starters Alshon Jeffery (calf) and DeSean Jackson (abdomen) sidelined by injuries, the Eagles had seven dropped passes against the Lions. The availability of Jackson for this week will be worth watching. Even as his 33rd birthday approaches, he’s one of the NFL’s elite deep threats. In the opening game against Washington, he caught eight passes for 154 yards, including a pair of 50-plus-yard touchdowns.

With the injuries, Agholor has team-high totals of 18 catches (but for only 168 yards) and three touchdowns. Regardless of who’s available at receiver, the passing attack will run through premier tight end Zach Ertz, who has 17 receptions for 190 yards.

The injuries at receiver have impacted quarterback Carson Wentz, who had a 102.2 rating and 69.6% completion rate last year, but a 91.2 rating and 61% completion rate this year.

“Carson Wentz, we know he’s an athletic guy who can throw,” said Packers linebacker Preston Smith, who has 4.5 sacks. “He can hurt you with his arm, and I’ve seen him scramble plenty of times.”

Opponents have run roughshod against Green Bay’s run defense the last two weeks. Despite their 3.6-yard team average, the Eagles have the horsepower to take advantage. Rookie Miles Sanders leads the team with 106 yards. Jordan Howard, Chicago’s top back the past few seasons, has 99 yards. Darren Sproles, 36 years old and in his 15th season, remains a matchup problem in the screen game.

The Eagles have one of the better offensive lines in football. Jason Peters is the left tackle, Isaac Seumalo is the left guard, Jason Kelce is the center, Milwaukee native Brandon Brooks is the right guard and Lane Johnson is the right tackle.

The 37-year-old Peters’ best days are behind him, but he’s a capable six-time All-Pro. Kelce was first-team All-Pro each of the last two seasons. Brooks, who has made two consecutive Pro Bowls, has made quite a comeback after suffering a torn Achilles in the playoff loss at New Orleans. Johnson made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and was a member of NFL Network’s annual “Top 100 Players” in 2018.

SPECIAL TEAMS

This will be a battle of excellent punters. JK Scott has been a huge weapon for the Packers in continually putting the defense in good field position. The Eagles’ Cameron Johnston, a part of the Australian invasion of punters, is averaging a whopping 50.7 yards per punt with a net average of 46.

Kicker Jake Elliott is perfect on four field-goal attempts after hitting 26-of-31 last year. He made a 61-yarder against the Giants in 2017.

Sproles returns the punts (9.3 average), Sanders returns the kickoffs (21.2). The Packers still have not returned a kickoff. Might they be tempted against an Eagles special teams that gave up a 100-yard touchdown to Detroit’s Jamal Agnew?