PHILADELPHIA — Nick Sirianni strolled past Oren Burks’ locker and apologized that he couldn’t award the linebacker another game ball.
“I’ve given you like six this season!” the Philadelphia Eagles coach shrugged, backing into a connecting door. “I mean, s—, you made the play of the game! I’ll get you a framed picture or something.”
Burks grinned. He’d envisioned this. All week, he’d heard Sirianni talk about how they needed to set the tone early, how they needed to leverage the energy of their home crowd, how they needed to seize momentum in the opening weekend of the postseason and never let it go. He’d envisioned making a game-changing play, and, thanks to the flip of a coin, he found himself hurtling downfield in kickoff coverage, squaring up his shoulders and clobbering the football loose from his opponent.
Only seven seconds had expired in the first game of the NFC wild-card round, and, already, the Eagles were in the red zone, prepared to make the Green Bay Packers pay for their first of four turnovers. Already, Burks was calling to a raucous crowd inside Lincoln Financial Field. Already, Jalen Hurts, in his return from a two-game absence in concussion protocol, was in the huddle, in the shotgun, in the process of a handoff to Saquon Barkley, plus a second, then was in possession of all the time in the world while hurling an 11-yard touchdown to Jahan Dotson.
“You can’t start a game better than that,” Sirianni later said.
The Eagles know they should’ve finished it better. Their 22-10 win suggests a level of dominance they never collectively reached. Oh, their defense sure did. After Burks, in cornerback Darius Slay’s words, “smacked the s—” out of Packers kick returner Keisean Nixon, the Eagles and their top-ranked defense held the Packers scoreless in the first half while surrendering 2.5 yards per play. Packers quarterback Jordan Love hadn’t thrown an interception in seven games. He threw three on Sunday. Slay stole a deep ball, linebacker Zack Baun surprised Love midfield and rookie Quinyon Mitchell snagged the first pick of his career on Green Bay’s final drive of the game.
YOU’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST INTERCEPTION, QUINYON! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/eEavptHkCi
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 13, 2025
“I owe Quinyon something,” Hurts said.
Maybe a few more touchdowns in the divisional round. The Eagles didn’t score any points off any of those three interceptions — a failure that would’ve likely been damning with inferior defensive play. It would’ve doomed them a year ago, when a derelict offense was unaided by a dysfunctional defense in a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that booted them out of the wild-card round. It’s what led to the departure of former defensive coordinator Sean Desai and the swift transition to Vic Fangio. The seven-time coordinator’s influence on a replenished defensive roster has been the stable force beneath Philadelphia’s resurgence to Super Bowl contention.
There was Jalen Carter, a second-year defensive tackle voted second-team All-Pro, chasing Love down on a third-and-8 throwaway on Green Bay’s first possession. There was Nolan Smith, a No. 30 pick in 2023, slinging Love down twice in a Packers backfield defined by disruption. Smith’s development secured depth for an organization that diversified its options in the middle of a transition. The Eagles tried to regenerate the youth of their pass rush by signing Bryce Huff (26) after trading Haason Reddick (30) to the New York Jets. Instead, after Huff hit injured reserve, it was Smith who surged into an every-down role, totaling 6.5 sacks in the regular season and recording the first multi-sack game of his career in the postseason.
“Defense played a hell of a game today,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said.
They did so while enduring the loss of one of their sturdiest pillars. Nakobe Dean slammed his helmet on the turf after injuring his knee on a second-quarter tackle for loss. The inside linebacker was carted off the field. Later, Dean left the locker room leaning on a crutch and wearing a heavy brace on his left knee. Sirianni did not yet disclose the severity of the injury. But its nature suggests Dean, who blossomed under Fangio in his third season, could be out the remainder of the postseason. Such would be a gutting blow to a defense that’s thrived partly due to the “Mike” linebacker’s directives.
“He’s one of the true leaders on this defense,” said Slay, who, apart from Dean, is one of the team’s seven captains. “I know I’ve got the ‘C’ on my chest. If it’s somebody I want to give my ‘C’ to, it’s him. … It’s hurtful to see him go down like that. … Without him, man, we wouldn’t be this far.”
GO DEEPER
A.J. Brown caught reading on sidelines during Eagles’ wild-card win
Burks, Dean’s backup, was thrust into a 10-0 game the Eagles offense desperately needed them to defend. Hurts experienced the rut everyone in the locker room believed wouldn’t arrive. After completing his first six passes for 39 yards, Hurts went on an 0-for-7 slump that lasted until late in the third quarter. Hurts didn’t attribute the problems to his lack of practice or experience in the season’s final two weeks. He vaguely assigned the issues to “execution” and “rhythm” and said he needed to rewatch the film to further understand what went wrong.
Hurts and Barkley initially battered the Packers defense with zone-read rushes. They combined for 43 yards on an 11-play drive in the first quarter that ended in Green Bay’s red zone. Hurts threw three straight incompletions from the Packers 13, and he was twice blitzed into throwing the ball away. Elliott kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Eagles their 10-0 lead. The Eagles punted on their next four drives, in which they averaged 1.7 yards per play. Interceptions by Slay and Baun resulted only in three-and-outs — an ineptitude that will almost certainly not be sidestepped in future playoff games against the NFC’s major powers.
“We’ve got to do a better job of making plays when they create turnovers,” Barkley said.
The Eagles opened the second half by running the ball three straight times. Barkley gained 11 yards on the first two carries, then, due to the predictability of their adjustment, the Packers dropped him for a loss of two on the next play. Hurts took a sack on the subsequent second-and-12, a play in which Hurts had 7.8 seconds to throw, according to TruMedia. The Eagles ran a third-and-19 draw to Barkley that went for no gain. They punted as the crowd booed.
Suddenly, the sense of dread in the building was palpable. The Eagles defense protected their red zone and forced the Packers to settle for a 26-yard field goal. Up 10-3, their lead was diminishing. Then, the slump ended. On third-and-3, Hurts rolled out and found DeVonta Smith wide open in the middle of the field for a 28-yard gain — an adjustment Sirianni would only disclose was “a great call” by offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Two plays later, Hurts made a crafty audible, according to Sirianni. Hurts saw tight end Dallas Goedert in soft coverage in the slot, changed the play, then hit Goedert in the flats. Goedert stiff-armed cornerback Carrington Valentine along the way to a 24-yard touchdown.
“I mean, did he have two or three stiff arms on that play?” Sirianni said.
BEEP BEEP DALLAS GOEDERT COMIN’ THROUGH 😤@goedert33 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/IPBaiA61Az
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 12, 2025
The Eagles never reached the end zone again. The Packers began the fourth quarter with their only touchdown drive of the game, which pulled them within 16-10. (Elliott missed the prior extra-point attempt.) Philadelphia’s offense sealed the game with a 13-play, 63-yard drive that required a fourth-and-1 Brotherly Shove to supply Elliott with a 30-yard field goal. They committed two holding penalties on their next drive, which nixed their chances at the end zone in exchange for a 32-yarder from Elliott.
Hurts finished the fame 13-of-21 passing for 131 yards and two touchdowns. A.J. Brown finished with just three targets and one catch for 10 yards. He was caught on the broadcast reading a self-help book, entitled, “Inner Excellence.” Brown later posted on X that he’s been reading the book in between drives in previous games, too. The social media post included a page with his own highlighted passages.
We’re so hard on ourselves, amplifying all our failures and regrets, that we neglect to see what’s still possible — a life of freedom, filled with deep contentment, joy and confidence, independent of circumstances. We’re all human, with the same deep desires and concerns.
It’s a fitting passage considering the adjustments the Eagles must make this week without succumbing to the same pressures that complicated any shot at a turnaround a year ago. They will host the winner of Vikings-Rams next Sunday at 3 p.m. Since they don’t yet know their opponent, Sirianni said they’ll spend Monday correcting the tape.
“We’ve got to be our biggest critic,” Barkley said. “And that’s what we’re gonna be, and we’re gonna see where we can improve on. But at the end of the day, the opinions, that’s for you guys. The only thing that really matters is how we win. Whether we throw for 400 yards, we rush for 400 yards, we win the game 3-0, I don’t give a f—, to be honest. I just want to win. I know that’s the mindset of the team.”
(Top photo of Quinyon Mitchell: Bill Streicher / Imagn Images)
