Eagles vs. Packers: What you need to know about ‘Monday Night Football,’ from predictions to Tush Push drama

After a long two weeks off, the Birds are back in action Monday night against the Packers in Green Bay, Wis.

Whether you used the bye week to de-stress or you’ve been champing at the bit for the Birds to come back, here’s everything you need to know about Monday’s game ...

Eagles-Packers will be televised live on ABC and ESPN at 8:15 p.m., with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call and Laura Rutledge and Lisa Salters on the sidelines.

The Manningcast will also be available on ESPN2, featuring guests Shane Gillis and Quinta Brunson.

If you’d rather listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the game, the radio broadcast can be found on 94.1 WIP-FM, and if you want to watch the game with your fellow Birds fans, here are a few spots to check out.

Cam Jurgens is the only Eagles starter who has been ruled out for Monday.

OUT

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For the Packers:

OUT

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The Packers were 1.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks as of Sunday afternoon.

For more information on prop bets for Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and Saquon Barkley, look here.

This will be the first game with the Birds’ new trade-deadline additions, edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and defensive backs Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II. It also marks the first game back for Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith’s return from injury.

The pass rush should look different from how it looked before the bye. How will the new additions fit into the group? How will Graham look in his season debut off after retirement?

Here are more storylines to watch:

4-0: The Eagles’ record after a bye under Nick Sirianni. The Eagles coach has been elite at getting the team ready to play following a long break.

Here are our writers’ predictions for Monday:

Jeff McLane: The Eagles have a tough back-to-back stretch with the Lions coming to Philly on a short turnaround next week. I think Detroit is stronger than Green Bay, but neither team has been consistent. The same could be said for the Birds. My gut says Eagles win this week and lose next, but my gut is never right. Neither is my brain. Packers 30, Eagles 23.

Jeff Neiburg: We’ll see if the Eagles’ Week 8 showing is what this offense will continue to look like moving forward. Jumbo packages, Jalen Hurts playing from under center, and play-action passes had the offense humming before the bye. Now, with A.J. Brown back from a hamstring injury, will the balanced attack be at its best? The Eagles are the better team, and it’s hard to pick against the better team here, even if oddsmakers made the Packers slight favorites. Eagles 27, Packers 23.

Olivia Reiner: So long as the offensive front can keep Micah Parsons from wrecking the game, the Eagles should have a chance to extend their winning streak to three contests. This matchup could be close, but if the Eagles blow the Packers out, they should Tush Push down the field on consecutive plays for good measure. Eagles 24, Packers 21.

Here’s what our columnists are saying about the Eagles, starting with Marcus Hayes, who thinks the Birds basically won the NFC East over the bye week ...

Marcus Hayes: “On Sunday night, as the Birds rested, Dan Quinn handed the Eagles the NFC East title. Quinn is the head coach of the Washington Commanders. He left franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels in a game that was entirely unwinnable. This action, and the subsequent play-calling, exposed Daniels to injury. Sure enough, Daniels dislocated his left elbow while scrambling for what would have been a meaningless touchdown late in a game in which they trailed by 31 points."

Mike Sielski: “To put this as simply and directly as possible, the Eagles were never trading A.J. Brown. They were never, ever, ever trading A.J. Brown. Not now. Not in the middle of the season. Not when they’re 6-2 and are tied for the best record in the NFC and have a realistic chance of winning the Super Bowl for the second straight season and the third time in nine years."

The Birds eliminated the Packers in the wild-card round in 2024 after also beating them to open the season in Brazil. That has given quarterback Jordan Love and Green Bay extra motivation heading into Monday’s contest.

“Having two L’s to this team last year, losing in the playoffs to them, [it’s] definitely a team, you make the playoffs, you know you’re going to see a team like this again,” Love said. “You’ve got to maximize these opportunities and you want to go win this game.”

Here’s what else they had to say ...

Matt LaFleur on Vic Fangio: “He’s going to challenge you, they’re going to give you maybe some looks that are unaccounted for. But more than anything else, those guys play hard and they play fundamentally sound. There’s no gimmes out there.”

LaFleur on the Tush Push, which the Packers attempted to ban this offseason: “I think the best way to stop it is to not to allow it to happen. In regards to, you can’t allow them in those short-yardage situations, because you know exactly what they’re going to do, and they’ve been pretty successful at it obviously.”

Cornerback Keisean Nixon on former teammate Jaire Alexander: “I’m just excited to see him. I think he’s wearing, like, 18 or something, so I’m going to give him [stuff] about that.”

After the trade deadline, are the Birds the best team in football? Here’s what the national media had to say ...

Emmanuel Acho: “Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl this year and Howie Roseman has made that abundantly clear. Howie Roseman didn’t make a foolish, egotistical decision such as letting A.J. Brown go. ... The Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl this year. There’s not a better team that got better in the last seven days than the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Colin Cowherd: “When Saquon Barkley gets 15 touches, they’re undefeated. I think the A.J. Brown situation kind of gets in the way. The only way to puncture a great team is drama in the locker room or a severe injury. So, I think their last game, when A.J. didn’t play, that was their true identity. A power run team. Saquon, 15 touches. I think the two best teams in the league right now are NFC teams. One doing it on roster, one doing it on coach and quarterback and a good defense. Philly, one. Rams, two.”

Ryan Clark: “Matthew Stafford is playing at an MVP level, maybe better than I’ve ever seen him play. They’re going to get an opportunity down the stretch. But at this point, to me, the championship still runs through Philadelphia.”

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