Photo by Evan Siegle - packers.com
Green Bay Packers vs Philadelphia Eagles, January 12, 2025
The Packers finished the season on a down note, as they fell into a 10-0 hole that they couldn’t climb out of. It was the worst possible time to play their worst half of the 2024 season.
To a large extent, the game was decided on its very first play, when Packer kick returner Keisean Nixon made a poor decision to return the opening kickoff from the end zone. Nixon was met by former Packer linebacker Oren Burks at the 27-yard line where Burks’ helmet-to-helmet shot dislodged the ball, with the officials awarding the ball to the Eagles. While Burks could have, and maybe should have been flagged for a penalty, and replays showed a clear and unambiguous recovery by Nixon, the Eagles managed to turn their good fortune into the game’s first touchdown. The Packers never came close to catching them.
While poor officiating played a big part, so did injuries, as the Packers, already without Jaire Alexander and Christian Watson, lost center Josh Myers, guard Elgton Jenkins and receivers Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs to serious injuries. Without their trio of starting receivers, the Packers were forced to rely on Bo Melton, who could not create any separation against the outstanding Eagles defense, and Malik Heath, who botched his footwork on a key fourth down with five minutes remaining, landing out of bounds where any of the starters surely would not have. Dontayvion Wicks had a few nice plays, but he caught just two of six targets, and was the intended target on a brilliant interception by Eagles corner Darius Slay.
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Best Run Defense
The Packers often fall back on their running game in such situations, but the Eagles have the best run defense in football, and outside of a nice 31-yard run to set up the Packers’ only touchdown of the day, Josh Jacobs and company averaged a mere 54 yards on 20 carries (excluding sneaks and scrambles). Philadelphia’s aggressive man defense befuddled Jordan Love all game as his struggles against man became a trend over the final three games. Without Watson as an over-the-top threat, Love had no answer and returned to his early season form, throwing three picks on the day.
To cap off a miserable half, the reliable Brandon McManus missed a short, 38-yard field goal, leaving the Packers scoreless as the first thirty minutes expired. It was another playoff special teams disaster for a team that has been plagued by them.
On a more positive note, Jeff Hafley’s defense was outstanding, holding star receiver AJ Brown to just one catch, and quarterback Jalen Hurts to 13 completions for 131 yards (and two touchdowns). Saquon Barkley managed 119 yards on the ground, but it took him 25 carries to do it, and a stout Packer defense managed to keep him out of the end zone entirely. If not for the Nixon fumble, the Packers likely would have held the Eagles to 16 or fewer points.
Masterful Performance
Jalen Hurts has struggled against zone defense all year, but for some reason, only two teams face zone less frequently than the Eagles. Hafley went extremely zone-heavy to great effect, and after some early struggles generating pressure, Hafley started bringing blitzes without sacrificing his overall scheme. It was a masterful performance given that Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine were the starters at corner, and the offense and special teams owe the defense an apology.
It was interesting to see the defense adjust to the weaknesses of the opposing team while, for the third week in a row, the offense just ran their basic playbook with no designs or concepts available to attack the Eagles’ few weaknesses. Matt LaFleur was forced to navigate several key injuries, but the creativity that was on display when Malik Willis successfully filled in for Love early in the season was completely absent.
As the season progressed the Packers’ use of pre-snap motion and play-action passing tailed off while running increased, and their efficiency as an offense cratered as a result. These are well established concepts of the Packer offense, and the major difference between the success of Aaron Rodgers in his final season, and Love in his first, was Love’s willingness to work in a motion offense with a heavy reliance on play-action. On standard straight drop passes, Love was worse than Rodgers this season.
It's hard to call the 2024 season a failure as the Packers still possess the league’s youngest roster, and finished with a strong record in a good division, but there are also some cracks in the façade. This team is supposed to excel because of the offense. Matt LaFleur has an offensive background, and in the second half of the 2023 season, the offense was outstanding. While injuries, including to Love, were a major factor, the lack of progress on offense, and lack of development from the young receivers is concerning
