Green Bay Packers v. Eagles: Week 13 Predictions
By Paul Bretl
Here are four quick predictions before the Green Bay Packers take on the Philadelphia Eagles this afternoon.
The 8-3 Green Bay Packers are looking to pick up their second win in a row as the 3-7-1 Philadelphia Eagles are coming to Titletown. Truthfully — and our predictions will get into this more — this is a game that the Packers should win relatively easily. The Eagle defense is solid, but their offense has been abysmal.
On the injury front, the Green Bay Packers are as healthy as they’ve been in weeks with only Tyler Ervin, Za’Darius Smith, and Krys Barnes on the injury report, and Matt LaFleur sounded very optimistic about both Ervin and Smith when asked about them on Friday. Meanwhile, the Eagles will have Fletcher Cox on Sunday; however, Darius Slay is questionable.
As we do each week, our crew here at Dairyland Express has made our predictions for today’s game. Comment below or find us on Twitter @DairylandXpress to give us your prediction.
Kenny Jilek (7-4)
The Eagles are allowing just 210.7 pass yards per game this season, which is good for eighth in the league. However, this is largely due to a lack of attempts against them because they are frequently playing from behind. Last week, we saw 211 pass yards was quite enough for a big offensive outburst when the run game is clicking. The Packers should look to get some big running gains early and continue all game with a couple of deep shots off of play-action.
Defensively, the Green Bay Packers are set up for what should be a great performance. For the second week in a row, they are facing a quarterback with highly questionable decision-making skills, and they should be able to create a few turnovers and short fields for the offense. For some style points on my prediction this week, I’ll add a Darnell Savage interception.
Prediction: Packers 31- Eagles 20
Matt LeVene (3-2)
Coming off a dominant win against the Chicago Bears, the Packers will try to keep the momentum going against the Eagles. Just a couple years removed from Carson Wentz being in the MVP conversation, it seems as if he might get run out of town to make way for the newcomer Jalen Hurts. I see no reason why the Packers cannot contribute to Carson Wentz’s farewell tour and add to his league lead in interceptions. The defense was filled with ball hawks last week as the Packers forced multiple turnovers. Facing a depleted Eagles offense, Darnell Savage and the rest of the secondary should be in line for a big day.
Miles Sanders has proven to be Philly’s best playmaker and needs to be held in check. However, Doug Pedersen has seemed allergic to this somewhat successful run game the past couple of weeks, so that should play into the Packer’s favor.
Look for Aaron Rodgers to have a big day. In what seems routine this season, AR12 has been dominating week in and week out. With the opportunity to be put in good situations by an opportunistic defense Rodgers’ should add to his league lead in touchdown passes. With Davante Adams, Rodgers, and the two-headed beast of Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones all hitting their strides, this game should be loaded with big-play potential and the ability to put up some serious points. I fully expect to get out to a big lead and to get Tim Boyle some more negative rushing yards to end it.
Prediction: Packers 42- Eagles 23
Trevor Bender (1-1)
Today the 3-7-1 Philadelphia Eagles will take on the 8-3 Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. This is a classic case of two teams going in polar opposite directions; the Eagles have lost three in a row while the Packers have won three of their last four games. I believe those trends will continue for this game.
Offensively the Eagles have been struggling all season; per Pro Football Focus ($), the Eagles are ranked 30th in the NFL. A big reason for this is the struggles that Cason Wentz has had during the 2020 season. PFF breaks down offense into multiple categories; in overall offense, Wentz is ranked 35th among quarterbacks, his passing grade ranks 39th in the league. Per ESPN, Wentz ranks 30th in the league.
Wentz is not the only player on the Eagles that has struggled, as the highest-graded wide receiver on the Eagles is Travis Fulgham, who is currently ranked 45th in the league. Even the offensive line, which has been a strength in previous seasons, has struggled this year with injuries and ranks 30th in pass-blocking efficiency. This should mean that the Packer defense can dictate the action as they did against a struggling Bears offense last week.
Defensively the Eagles have been better, but not great. The Eagles rank 16th in the league in points per game and are the 14th overall defense, according to PFF. The Eagles do have one very good strength, and that is their defensive line–specifically getting after the quarterback. The interior of the defensive line for the Eagles has four players rated in the top 30 in the league in regards to PFF’s pass-rush productivity. This is what I will be watching for on Sunday. Can the Packers’ offensive line continue to play great against a good front four?
The Packers have four offensive linemen ranked in the top 32 in the league according to offensive lineman PFF grades. If the Green Bay Packers win in the trenches on offense, I don’t know how the Eagles slow down this high flying offense, and with Philadelphia struggling on the offensive side of the ball, they won’t keep up with Green Bay. If the Eagles are effective in getting to Aaron Rodgers, that could make the Packers’ offense not as dominant and keep the Eagles in the game. Overall I think the Packers win, and I trust the offensive line to continue to play well for the Packers.
Prediction: Packers 38 – Eagles 17
Paul Bretl (9-2)
There are a few areas of potential concern entering this game, including the Eagle tight ends, their defensive front, as well as RB Miles Sanders. With that said, Philadelphia is 3-7-1 for a reason. I expect the Packer defense to get after Carson Wentz and this struggling Philly OL, which should lead to some turnover worthy throws.
While on offense, despite the Eagle pass-rush, based on what we’ve seen from the Green Bay offensive line, there is no reason not to think that they won’t be able to handle them. That means plenty of time for Aaron Rodgers to pick apart this man-coverage heavy defense. I expect this game to play out similarly to last week’s game against the Bears.
Prediction: Packers 34 – Eagles 20