Green Bay Packers: 5 BIG Questions heading into Matchup with Eagles

Another big week for Preston Smith?

We are all well aware that Preston Smith has not been the same player this week. In recent weeks we’ve seen him make a few plays, but last Sunday against Chicago was easily his most complete performance of the season. He returned a fumble for a touchdown, recorded a sack, another pressure, and was very good against the run–something we haven’t seen in 2020.

This week he will have another great opportunity to build off of that performance against an Eagles’ offensive line that has been bad. Because of injuries, poor play, and Wentz holding on to the ball, Philly is allowing the most sacks per game as well as the most pressures. Let’s see if Smith can continue trending in the right direction.

Will Fletcher Cox play on Sunday?

I’ve already mentioned how good the Philadelphia defensive front has been this season, and a big reason is because of the play of Fletcher Cox in the middle. In 11 games this season, Cox has recorded 5.5 sacks, 34 total pressures, and 18 run stops. However, according to the Eagles’ injury report, he has missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with a neck injury.

Last week the Packers caught a break as they didn’t have to face Akiem Hicks in the middle of that Bear defensive front, and they made Chicago pay with several big runs between the tackles. If Cox is unable to play, the Packers may be able to find similar success on the ground, not to mention that it’ll make life a little easier on rookie Jon Runyan.