Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles Spread

Written by Jack Jones - Google +

The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles square off in the wild card round Sunday. This game will be nationally televised on FOX at 4:30 EST. It will be the second meeting between these teams, with the Packers taking the season-opener in Philly by a final of 27-20. Michael Vick came in that game trailing 20-3 after starting quarterback Kevin Kolb went out with a concussion, and nearly led his team back to victory but simply ran out of time. The odds for the rematch this weekend show us a line of Eagles -3 over Packers with a total set of 46.5 points.

Green Bay (10-6) got into the playoffs thanks to a pair of victories to close out the season. The Packers thumped the New York Giants in Week 16 at Lambeau Field 45-17, and though they struggled offensively in Week 17, their defense picked up the slack in a 10-3 home victory over the Chicago Bears. Green Bay has never trailed by more than 7 points in any game this season, and they’ve never been beaten by more than four points. This team is much better than their record would indicate, and you can find the Packers at +1200 to win Super Bowl XLV. But remember, this team will have to win three straight road games to even reach the Super Bowl and Green Bay is just 3-5 on the road this season.

The Packers have been battling through injuries all season, especially on offense where they have been without two of their top playmakers in RB Ryan Grant and TE Jermichael Finley. Aaron Rodgers missed one game with a concussion and sat out most of another, both games the Packers would lose. Still, Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards and 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. His favorite target has been Greg Jennings, who’s 1,082 receiving yards over the final 11 games are the most in the league. The one constant for the Packers has been their defense. Green Bay is second in points allowed at 15.0 per game and rank fifth in the league in total defense at 309.1 yards per game.

The blitzing defense of the Packers could give the Eagles offensive line troubles. Philadelphia allowed the second-most sacks in the league with 50 this season, and that’s even with an elusive quarterback in Michael Vick. The Eagles opened the season with Kevin Kolb as their starter and even went back to him for a few games while Vick was recovering from a rib injury. Kolb played well, but head coach Andy Reid could not ignore what Vick brought to this team. The MVP candidate threw for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, while rushing for 676 yards and nine scores this season. With Vick leading the way, you will find the Eagles at +1200 to win Super Bowl XLV.

Philly ranks No. 2 in total offense at 389.3 yards per game. The Eagles have produced 80 plays of 20-plus yards which ranks them in a tie for first. DeSean Jackson had 21 catches of 20 yards or more, and six which went for 50-plus yards. RB LeSean McCoy led the league with five runs of 40-plus yards. Green Bay did a solid job on these two in the first meeting, limiting McCoy to 82 total yards while Jackson has four catches for just 30 yards. Jeremy Maclin is one receiver that lacks the respect he deserves, as he has a team-high 10 touchdown catches making him the Eagles top red zone target.

Concerning for the Eagles is a defense that gave up 24 points in five of their final six games. Philly played well early in the year defensively, but injuries really hurt them down the stretch. The Eagles haven’t been all that great at home, going just 4-4 which is the worst home mark of any team in the playoffs. As stated before, the Packers are just 3-5 on the road this year. The Packers have lost four straight playoff games on the road, including a 20-17 overtime loss at Philadelphia in the 2004 divisional round.

BetUS Projected Score: Eagles 25 – Packers 22

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