If the Philadelphia Eagles want to set the tone for tonight’s showdown at Lambeau, they’ll trot out the Tush Push on their first play from scrimmage. They’ll shove it in the face of the team that tried to get it banned from the league. I’d love to see it. Maybe that would light a fire under the Green Bay Packers, though you’d like to think last week’s result took care of that.
Through eight games, it’s hard to know what to make of the 2025 Packers, but Monday night’s matchup with the Eagles should clear up a lot of the questions.
They’ve shown they can beat up on the haves (the Detroit Lions), while struggling against the have-nots (the Cleveland Browns), and it’s that lack of consistency that has most of us wondering how high their ceiling actually is.
If they can right the ship against the Eagles, it can serve as a springboard for the second half of the season. Was the Carolina Panthers loss a wake-up call? Or was it a prism that magnified the weaknesses within this roster?
To knock off the Super Bowl champs, the No. 1 priority is to contain Saquon Barkley, who, before his breakout game against the New York Giants, was averaging just 3.3 yards per carry. Philadelphia’s offense has been a work in progress all season under new coordinator Kevin Patullo. They seem to have righted the ship since their shocking blowout loss at home to the Giants a few weeks ago, but I expect the Pack’s run defense to be on point after last week’s debacle. They mostly contained Barkley in the two meetings last year.
The other main ingredient tonight will be production in the red zone. After a disastrous 1-5 performance last week, you hope the Packers placed a lot of emphasis on the red zone in practice this week. The Eagles boast one of the best red-zone defenses — they’ve allowed just three touchdowns, while they’re the best in the league in the red zone, offensively. The Pack will need to match that excellence tonight.
The storyline of most of Green Bay’s games this season has been slow starts and then finding a groove in the second half. It would behoove them to flip that script and get things humming early. The Pack’s offensive line is coming off a miserable performance against a mediocre Carolina Panthers front seven, and now they face one of the most imposing defenses they’ll see this season.
How will Matt LaFleur adjust the offense, now that they’ve lost Tucker Kraft for the season? You can’t just plug Luke Musgrave into his role and expect the same production — he’s an entirely different player, without the ability to block in the run game and bust tackles with the ball in his hands. There will be a role for Musgrave, but LaFleur will undoubtedly turn to his deep receiving corps to pick up the slack.
How deep that room is right now remains to be seen, with three receivers questionable for the game. The most concerning is rookie Matthew Golden, who missed practice Friday and Saturday with a shoulder injury and would seem to be a long shot to play. Dontayvion Wicks will likely return, and he’ll be counted on to become a key target, with Philly’s talented secondary no doubt keying on Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.
Philadelphia’s defense has been middle-of-the-pack this season; they don’t rush the passer all that well, and they’re a middling run defense. This has to be the week Josh Jacobs shines. The team has monitored his workload as he worked through his calf injury, and he needs at least 20 touches in this matchup.
The line has been a lousy run blocking unit all season — it’s maybe the biggest disappointment of the season. The addition of Aaron Banks and the jettisoning of Josh Myers were supposed to make the unit bigger, nastier, and more physical. We haven’t seen it yet. Tonight would be a great time to flip the narrative.
It would also be nice to see LaFleur be a little less conservative in his play-calling. We’ve seen Love throw far too many screens and passes near the line of scrimmage. It’s tough to take deep shots against a Vic Fangio defense — they’ll play those two deep safeties to prevent the big play. Jacobs and the Packers need to feast against a light box. If they can get those safeties to respect the run, it will open up some deep shots to Watson.
Philly’s offense is healthy and rested as they come off the bye, missing only center Cam Jurgens, which may impact the effectiveness of the Tush Push, who knows? With Jeff Hafley mostly playing zone, Jalen Hurts will look for his zone busters, WR DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert. The Pack has struggled to contain tight ends this season, and Goedert has been a red-zone demon, with seven TDs already.
After an uncharacteristically quiet game from Micah Parsons, he gets a chance to rebound against a team he knows very well. He said he expects a dogfight on Monday night, and I’ll be very surprised if we don’t see this defense respond. They’re giving up just 286 yards per game, good for fifth in the league. On a chilly night, with a chance to make a statement, I think they step up and look more like the unit we saw the first two weeks of the season.
I’ll be interested to see the inactive list when it’s posted 90 minutes before kickoff. Will kicker Lucas Havrisik be active? We know Brandon McManus will start as the kicker, but if they keep both guys active, it might signal that McManus’s leash is short. Needless to say, the team can’t afford any missed kicks in a matchup like this one.
It’s a coinflip game, with the Packers favored by 1.5 points — they’re the only team in the league to be favored in every game, by the way (that will end on Thanksgiving Day). I’m betting that the more desperate team beats the more rested team. I’m betting that the Pack will rebound and be better in the red zone, give Jacobs some nice running lanes, will contain Barkley, and will make a key defensive stop when they need it most.
Packers 24
Eagles 23