Eagles-Packers: Eagles grind out playoff win over Green Bay

With their 22-10 win over the Packers, the Eagles have advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs. And that game will be at Lincoln Financial Field. That much we know. But Birds fans will have to wait a little longer to find out who they play, and when.

So who could the Eagles play? It's guaranteed to be one of three teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Minnesota Vikings, or the Los Angeles Rams. And the scenarios are quite simple.

• If the Bucs win on Sunday night, the Eagles will play them.
• If the Commanders beat the Bucs, the Eagles will play the winner of the Rams-Vikings game on Monday night.

The weekend began with a bang, crescendoed Sunday morning, then softly settled into a satisfying afterglow.

A traitor visited Philadelphia for the first time and fled, following a drubbing.

The Sixers abandoned their generally unpopular but Council-approved downtown arena.

The Eagles have a two possession lead again, 19-10, after Jake Elliott connected on a field goal from 30 yards out.

The Eagles chewed up more than seven minutes of clock on their 13-play, 58-yard drive.

Jalen Hurts had key connections with Dallas Goedert, and the Eagles even tried a sneaky passing play out of the Tush Push formation that didn't work.

A two-score Eagles lead was short lived.

A violent Josh Jacobs run through multiple Eagles set the Packers up at the Eagles goal line at the end of the third quarter and Jacobs punched it in on the first play of the fourth quarter.It's 16-10 Eagles and the lead is no longer comfortable.

Green Bay's drive went for 78 yards in nine plays and took just 3 minutes, 24 seconds.

The passing offense is back.

After seven consecutive incompletions, Jalen Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a key third-down conversion that went for 28 yards. Hurts connected with Smith on the next play for another nine yards to get to Green Bay's 24-yard line.

On the next play, Hurts checked the play at the line of scrimmage then threw quickly to Dallas Goedert in the left flat. Goedert powered his way down the sideline with a few stiff arms and scored a touchdown.

The Packers are on the board after a 26-yard field goal by Brandon McManus, a big win for the Eagles after the Packers moved the ball with relative ease into the red zone.

Green Bay's first scoring drive went 76 yards and took 12 plays and five minutes, 47 seconds.

The Packers are starting to pressure the Eagles defense with chunk first-down gains on the ground with Josh Jacobs.

There’s no doubt Eagles fans are one of the most intense and passionate fans in the NFL. Where does this rowdy reputation come from — some can say they were born with it.

In case you missed it, ahead of last week's meaningless matchup with the New York Giants, young Philly fans were seen taunting a Giants fan in front of the Linc. The young fans can be heard yelling back and forth about New York's 3-14 record. That same energy was taken into this week's wild card matchup with the Green Bay Packers.

Instead of playing in Brazil, Green Bay traveled to Philadelphia to play in front of the brutal Philly fan base at Lincoln Financial Field. But the heckling didn’t stop at Linc. Fans crowded inside Xfinity Live and declared war on the Green Bay Packers — a war that appeared to be short lived once the game started.

Noah Thayer, 25, and Zach Engle, 26, drove down from Quakertown and were tailgating since 10 a.m. As both Thayer and Engle attend their first playoff game as lifelong Eagles fans, they believe they’re witnessing one of the best teams in Eagles history, including the 2017 Super Bowl team.

“I think 2017, I mean Nick Foles had a miracle run,” Thayer said. “I mean that team had a lot of heart, this team does too but I think this team is a lot more talented and I think if they just stick together and play as a team, they can definitely make it all the way. I don’t see any reason they can’t. But I think both teams are special in their own ways and I think both teams are going to get it done.”

One thing this current team has that the 2017 Super Bowl team doesn’t have is three-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley. In Barkley’s first year with the Eagles, the running back made history, setting the franchise single-season rushing record and became the ninth player ever to log 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. Not to mention, he was just 101 rushing yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.

A malfunctioning signal system near the Fairmount subway station is causing delays of at least 10 minutes on the Broad Street SEPTA line, officials said, as a rush of commuters are traveling to Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles playoff game against the Packers.

Both sides of the Broad Street subway line are affected by the signal system malfunction reported at around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, near Fairmount station, said Andrew Busch, spokesperson for SEPTA. Commuters should expect delays of at least 10 minutes as crews work to fix the issue, he said.As of Sunday afternoon, there is no timeline for repairs, he said.

The malfunction comes little more than an hour before kickoff for the Eagles playoff game, and as fans swarm the Broad Street subway line to travel to NRG Station, near Lincoln Financial Field.

As both teams prepare to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Green Bay Packers find themselves in a similar position as last year’s playoff run.

For the second consecutive season the Packers enter as the No. 7 seed. Last year’s wild card game ended in an upset over the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys in a 48-32 win at AT&T Stadium.

But to Delaware native Om Patel, 20, this year’s Eagles team isn’t Dallas. When asked if this he was worried about a potential upset today, he responded immediately “No. Definitely not.”

Philly fans were fired up ahead of the Eagles wild-card matchup with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Both teams previously met back in Week 1 in Brazil. The Eagles came out on top of that game, 34-29. Now, the teams will be playing under different circumstances — a chance to continue their chase for a Lombardi trophy.

Back in Week 1, the Birds struggled defensively, allowing 414 yards and 7.8 yards per carry. But Eagles fan Joshua Engle, 26, said this is a much different team then.

“I think our team definitely grew a lot,” Engle said. “They weren’t running Saquon as much in the beginning of the year. Now we kind of got him in the groove. Like I said. The defense and everybody seems very chemistry based.”

Thinking out loud about the Eagles’ wild-card matchup with the Packers on Sunday …

There is a path to victory here for the Packers. These aren’t the Giants of a couple of years ago. Green Bay has a head coach who can dial up a game plan, a quarterback who can throw downfield, and a defense that finished the regular season ranked in the top six in points allowed, yards allowed, and turnovers. This is a tougher matchup than a No. 2 seed typically would expect in the wild-card round.

That being said …

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley didn’t get the chance to set a record for most rushing yards in a season, but there are a couple of postseason records he could topple, including one held by Eric Dickerson.

Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards during the regular season, 100 shy of the record 2,105 yards Dickerson ran for with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984, but was held out of the regular-season finale so he could get some rest.

Here’s a rundown of some postseason rushing records Barkley could have on his sights as the Eagles prepare to take on the Green Bay Packers Sunday:

After an inconsequential win over the New York Giants in Week 18 — a game in which Philly rested its starters — the Eagles turn their attention to the Green Bay Packers (11-6) on Sunday in a wild-card matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.

As the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Birds (14-3) are a much different team from their last meeting with the Packers in their season opener in Brazil. Despite a 34-29 victory over Green Bay, the Birds struggled defensively, allowing 414 yards and 7.8 yards per carry. But the Eagles defense is now one of the best in the NFL.

The Birds enter Sunday’s game 4.5-point favorites over the No. 7-seeded Packers. Will their chase for the Lombardi Trophy continue? Or will Green Bay spoil the Birds’ chances? Here’s what experts in the local and national media are saying …

Jalen Hurts is back. The quarterback is through the concussion protocol and will play in Sunday’s playoff opener against the Green Bay Packers. But while Hurts worked his way through the protocol this week — practicing in a limited capacity Wednesday, a full capacity Thursday, and being cleared by an independent neurologist — the availability of his two star receivers, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, has been spotty.

Brown was held out of practice Thursday due to a lingering knee injury and in order to rest before returning to the field Friday. Smith, meanwhile, experienced back tightness prior to Friday’s workout and was held out of practice in an effort to not have his back get tighter in the cold weather. Both players are expected to be available Sunday.

The on-and-off nature of their availability means that the quarterback and his top two targets haven’t had a full practice together since they prepared for their Week 16 road game vs. the Washington Commanders, a game Hurts played just five minutes in before being concussed on a designed run.