Each week, I dive into the film of the Eagles’ upcoming opponent to get a feel for who they really are. Think of it less as a stats preview and more as an overview of what shows up repeatedly on film, and what the Eagles will be facing. Usually, this is two articles, but because the Eagles have kept me busy with new trade additions, I’ve kept this one a little concise and combined offense and defense.
Green Bay’s Offense
Pass Game
When you watch Matt LaFleur’s offense, you always see a well-coached team. Everything runs through a clear structure focused on spacing, timing, and rhythm. Green Bay doesn’t try to overwhelm defenses with aggressive vertical shots constantly. They run the ball a lot and pick their spots. They had a disastrous game last week (it was the worst Jordan Love has played; he’s been very good in the other games I watched), but I don’t think that suddenly makes this team bad.
This is a play-action-heavy attack (5th-most in the league) built to create clear and concise reads for Jordan Love. Love is one of the most rhythm-based quarterbacks in football. They love hitting the flat after play-action and they dress it up in a ton of different ways.
He’s calm in the pocket when the picture stays clean, and he’s been outstanding when the play is there to be made. The ball comes out quickly, on time, and usually to the right spot. The passing game is at its best when they work through condensed formations, motion, and crossers. They love to use motion to create leverage, pull safeties across the field, and then attack the backside void with an in-breaker or deep post.
Christian Watson’s return has been massive for that. He’s their vertical stressor, even when he’s not targeted. Matthew Golden was doing an OK job, but Watson can properly stretch the field. Statistically, it backs up the film. The Packers are #1 in EPA per pass and top-3 in yards per attempt.
However, Jordan Love is a bit of an odd quarterback because it’s very obvious what his weakness is. When you pressure him, things can get really messy. He doesn’t want to take sacks and can be overly aggressive. He will try to create something out of structure, and it can lead to disastrous results.
Love feels very inconsistent. On his day, he looks like a top 5 QB, but when he struggles, he doesn’t look good at all.
I think the Eagles will want to play a lot of zone this week to take away deep posts and crossers. I don’t think you want to be blitzing that often against this offense unless you are convinced that the pressure will get home quickly.
Run Game
This offense is built around the run game. Green Bay’s ground game is more about staying on schedule than ripping off explosives. Sometimes, I think they try to run too often. They rank middle of the pack in efficiency, but nearly top-5 in attempts per game. They want to force you to load up the box and take advantage of it by throwing it down the field.
It’s a multiple-run scheme, and Jacobs is happy running both zone and gap concepts. You see a lot of outside zone, but also some duo, occasional pin-pull looks, and they have a clear, strong-side bias (all 11 of their explosive runs have gone that way). That may change after Tucker Kraft’s injury. I think the offensive line has been just average, as Jacobs isn’t seeing huge lanes, but his patience and contact balance keep the offense in manageable downs. He’s an outstanding back. I think the run blocking is average, but Jacobs makes it look better than it is.
The Packers don’t need to run for 150 yards. They need to run enough to hold the second level of opposing teams, and few teams may run and pass looks as seamlessly as they do. The Eagles’ linebackers need to be really careful not to get downhill too quickly. If the Eagles’ interior can stay disciplined, then they can slow down this running game, which will have a huge impact on this game. I think Brandon Graham might have a role to play! The Eagles haven’t been great at setting the edge this year, and I wonder if they will trust Graham to do this on early downs.
Green Bay’s Defense
Pass Defense
On the other side, Jeff Hafley’s defense is built around one idea: don’t get beat deep. Everything is built around this idea. This is one of the most zone-heavy defenses in the NFL, and it’s quite an unusual defense. They live mostly in Cover 2, Tampa 2, and Quarters. You don’t see many teams playing as much Cover 2 as this defense does. The Eagles have struggled against zone defenses this year, so this will be a test for this passing game. The Eagles want to go vertical, but this may not be the week for it. They need to run a lot of classic cover 2 beaters and flood one side of the field, often.
It’s an extremely patient defense. They want to frustrate you into mistakes by forcing you to check the ball down. That’s why they’ve allowed the fewest explosive passes in the league and are top-10 in yards per attempt allowed. But the trade-off is evident on film. This defense struggles badly in the intermediate middle, the 10–18-yard window behind the linebackers.
It’s where A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will make their money. I think we are going to see a lot of comeback routes and deep outs. Hurts needs to hit his back foot and take the shots outside because I don’t think their corners can hang with AJ and DeVonta.
Obviously, Micah Parsons has changed this defense. He’s a complete and utter game wrecker, and the Eagles will need a plan to handle him. He’s one of the best players in football, and the Packers will use him in a variety of different ways, rather than just letting him line up against Lane Johnson. Parsons has allowed them not to blitz very often. They have a couple of other decent pass rushers, including Rashan Gary who has 7.5 sacks already this year!
They rarely blitz (bottom five in the league), which is also a shame for this offense. The Eagles have been exceptional against the blitz. The challenge will be patience. The Packers invite you to take short gains, rally, and tackle. They tackle well in space. The Eagles need to be patient and play consistently sound football rather than taking shots down the field.
Run Defense
Weirdly, given that the Packers live in many two-high structures, you might expect the run defense to be weak. However, Green Bay’s run defense has been good. They are only giving up just 4.0 yards per carry.
They have quite a lot of talent on the edge, and Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness are big physical guys who set the edge well. The front plays smart, disciplined football, limiting cutbacks and explosive runs. However, Micah Parsons is so good, but at times, he will freestyle and jump inside. I do think you can run outside at Parsons and try to catch him as he gets up the field. The Eagles have had success with this in the past when he was with the Cowboys.
I didn’t love the play of their linebackers in run defense and I do think there is a chance to have some success with the running game. The Packers’ front is very disciplined, but I don’t think individually they are exceptional. If the Eagles’ offensive line is at full strength, I don’t think the Packers will have the physicality to handle them. It’s a good front, rather than a physically dominant one.
Final Thoughts
Green Bay isn’t flashy, but they’re quietly one of the most balanced and well-coached teams in the league. Last week feels like a bit of an outlier to me. The offense is efficient, the defense is disciplined, and both play complementary football. However, I am intrigued to see this team without Tucker Kraft. He was a huge part of what they were doing on offense. The offense may not be as good without him.
For the Eagles, this game may be a test of patience and offensive efficiency. They can’t chase the deep ball. The opportunities will come between 10 and 18 yards, especially outside the numbers. On defense, the Eagles need to disrupt the Packers’ rhythm early. Get pressure with 4, disguise post-snap rotations, and don’t let Love get comfortable. This is one of the best-designed passing games in football when on script, but it is not one built to handle pressure.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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