Packers Offense vs. Eagles Defense
The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense helped lead them to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season. Their pass rush was vicious, as they set the team record for sacks that year.
Last year saw the defense fall apart down the stretch. The pass rush was not as vicious, and the team will now be breaking in some new rushers.
Haason Reddick was traded to the New York Jets this offseason and replaced by Bryce Huff. Fletcher Cox, one of the anchors of the Eagles, retired this offseason.
Former first-round pick Nolan Smith could be in line for a bigger role this year, and the ageless Brandon Graham returns for one final season.
In the secondary, Howie Roseman was active in addressing what might have been his team’s biggest weakness a year ago.
Quinyon Mitchell was added in the first round to play cornerback. It’s unclear if he will start.
One of the favorites in the draft process for the Packers and their fans was Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean.
The Eagles jumped ahead of Green Bay in the second round to grab him. He could play in the slot. He could play safety. It’s unclear where DeJean will play, but he has a chance to impact the game at multiple levels for the Eagles’ defense.
Perhaps the biggest change the Eagles made on defense was at defensive coordinator.
Jonathan Gannon left the Eagles after their Super Bowl appearance to be the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.
They replaced him with Sean Desai, who was eventually replaced by Matt Patricia during the season.
Neither of those options worked well, and the Eagles hired former Packers’ nemesis, Vic Fangio.
Fangio has tormented the Packers as a coordinator in both San Francisco and Chicago.
This is a different coaching staff and quarterback, but Fangio is one of the most respected defensive minds in all of football.
Green Bay’s offense was the biggest reason the team found its way into the divisional round of the NFC playoffs a year ago.
Jordan Love and the offense as a whole struggled through the first nine games of the season.
They were 3-6 and stuck in a rut.
From there, Love turned it on, playing like arguably the best quarterback in all of football.
Love’s ability to manipulate defenses with his eyes grew down the stretch of the year, and so did his chemistry with his receivers.
The Packers had a different leading receiver in each of their final three games, as they had to win all three to make the postseason.
Love’s performance in that stretch, where he only turned the ball over once, helped him land the biggest contract for quarterbacks this offseason.
Love is now established as the franchise quarterback. He’s the present and future in Green Bay.
Is there an MVP in his future? That remains to be seen, but the Packers’ offense is incredibly optimistic this year coming off of a year where they were unsure about everything.
Speaking of uncertainties — the backfield is new. The question is will it be improved?
Marshawn Lloyd and Josh Jacobs have replaced Aaron Jones, who was released this offseason.
Jacobs comes from Las Vegas and won the rushing title two years ago. Last year was not as productive for Jacobs as he held out for all of training camp.
Jacobs is hoping to rediscover his form and could have an opportunity to get off to a good start against Philadelphia.
AJ Dillon was set to be part of this tandem, but he is injured and will miss the season with a neck injury. Emanuel Wilson will be the next man up in his place.
The offensive line is where the Packers have the most transition. David Bakhtiari was an opening day starter. He’s gone.
Green Bay’s first round pick was offensive lineman Jordan Morgan. Morgan was touted as a tackle but has played almost exclusively at guard during camp when he was healthy.
Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker are the tackles. Tom is an anchor. He’s the team’s best offensive lineman just edging out left guard Elgton Jenkins.
Rasheed Walker had a very strong finish last year. He’s still a question mark because he had some ups and downs last year.
His strong finish, however, included shutting out Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons in the postseason.
If the Packers can block the Eagles’ front, they have a good chance of winning the game.
Packers Defense vs. Eagles Offense
Green Bay’s defense undertook a major facelift this offseason. Joe Barry is out. Jeff Hafley is in.
The room is buzzing with optimism surrounding the hire and the hopes that they’ll be able to think less and hunt more.
The Packers added four new safeties, including free-agent Xavier McKinney, who is expected to take a major leadership role in the secondary.
It looks like he’ll be joined by second-round pick Javon Bullard as his running mate. Evan
Williams had a nice camp as well; it’ll be interesting to see if the Packers can get all three guys on the field in the secondary.
The cornerback position across from Jaire Alexander is one to note as well. Eric Stokes appears to be the leader to start across from him.
Stokes is coming off two injury-riddled seasons and looking to find consistency with both his health and performance.
The front seven is where this Packers’ defense has its bread buttered.
Rashan Gary is entering a big season, another year fully removed from his ACL surgery. Gary was a menace in camp, wrecking several practices, and now will get an opportunity to do that against a different team.
Kenny Clark was extended in the offseason, and the Packers think that he is going to have a big year in Hafley’s defense.
Apart from those guys, the group is deep and talented. Devonte Wyatt enters a big year, and this defense theoretically fits his skillset the best.
Karl Brooks enters his second season and was a menace to opposing offenses a year ago.
In terms of development, however, the biggest player to keep an eye on is second-year edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. Green Bay’s switch to a 4-3 alignment should help him be more explosive and comfortable out of a 3-point stance. If he’s able to breakout, Green Bay’s defense will be cooking with gas.
Finally, the steady veteran Preston Smith returns for another season. He’s as consistent as they come and will start across from Gary.
Philadelphia’s offense is led by Jalen Hurts. Hurts had a down year last year after a near MVP season in 2022. The Eagles fired their offensive coordinator Brian Johnson to bring in Kellen Moore to help get their offense back on track.
A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith combine for one of the best receiver combinations in all of football. Dallas Goedart is still playing at a high level as well.
The big addition to the Eagles’ offense was running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley’s talent should be an interesting mix with Moore’s offense.
The offensive line remains relatively intact but did lose its leader and future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce to retirement this offseason.
Green Bay’s front against the Eagles’ offensive line could be where this game is won or lost.
Special Teams
Special teams as a whole is a giant question mark across the league in at least one facet.
The NFL changed the rules for the kickoff this offseason, adopting the kickoff rules from spring football.
In theory, that should mean more opportunities for Keisean Nixon, the Packers’ back-to-back All-Pro kick returner.
The Packers have to like their chances if Nixon has more opportunities to get the ball in his hands. The same is true for Nixon.
Green Bay’s kicking situation is a bit of a mess. Anders Carlson was dreadful a season ago.
He had competition in the offseason, but nobody really ran away with the kicking job. Any time a kicker trots onto the field, Packer fans have to be crossing their fingers.
The Eagles are different. Their kicker, Jake Elliott is one of the best in the NFL. The Eagles’ return game does not have much juice to it. Perhaps that changes with the dynamic kickoff rule.
They did, however, finish in the top 10 of Rick Gosselins’ special teams rankings.
For comparison’s sake, Green Bay finished 29th.
This is a big year for Rich Bisaccia and his special teams group. Bisaccia is the highest paid special teams coordinator in all of football. They need a better performance from this group, and that does not apply solely to the kicker.
Packers, Eagles evenly matched in opener
