(WNFL/247NEWSSOUCE/PACKERS) – This Sunday’s Green Bay Packers’ playoff game will not be the first time in team history that they have opened both the regular season and the playoffs with the same opponent.
It’s happened 5 times before.
- It is a rematch of the season opener that saw the Packers and Eagles play in Brazil. It is the sixth time (2002, Atlanta Falcons / 2010, Philadelphia / 2012 and 2013, San Francisco 49ers / 2014, Seattle Seahawks) that Green Bay will face the team they opened the regular season against in the playoffs.
- This will be the fourth postseason meeting between Green Bay and Philadelphia, with the Eagles holding a 2-1 (.667) advantage (1960, 2003, 2010). The previous three postseason matchups were all played in Philadelphia and decided by four points, three points (OT) and five points.
- The Packers lead the regular-season searies 27-17 (.614).
- This will be just the second time that the Packers have faced a team in the playoffs that won 14-plus games in the regular season (2001 St. Louis Rams went 14-2).
- Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Packers are the second-youngest team (25.72) by weighted age to make the playoffs over the last 45 seasons (1980-2024), behind the 2023 Packers (25.58).
- The Packers have won their last three Wild Card road games (Philadelphia in 2010, Washington in 2015 and Dallas in 2023), tied with the Ravens for the longest road Wild Card streak over that span.
- The Packers are 11-5 (.688) in the Wild Card Playoffs, including a 4-2 (.667) mark on the road.
- Safety Xavier McKinney has played against the Eagles six times (including the postseason), posting 42 tackles (24 solo), seven passes defensed, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and four interceptions, including three in the last two games he has played against Philadelphia.
- Linebacker Rashan Gary has recorded 2.5 sacks, two tackles for a loss and four QB hits in his last two games against the Eagles.
- Running back Josh Jacobs has 27 touches for 172 yards (6.4 avg.) with a rushing TD in two games against Philadelphia.
- Wide receiver Jayden Reed hauled in four passes for 138 yards (34.5 avg.) and a TD in the Week 1 game against the Eagles, including a career-long 70-yard TD catch.
Hurts to play or not: The head coach of the Eagles isn’t concerned about his star quarterback.
Head coach Nick Sirianni told 94-1 WIP that they have “so much faith” in Jalen Hurts as he works through the league’s concussion protocol.
He got injured back in Week 16 and didn’t play in the last two games of the regular season.
Sirianni said Hurts is “progressing” through the process and the high intensity practices should knock off any “rust” from not playing.
Kenny Pickett is also dealing with a rib injury which could leave Tanner McKee as the only healthy quarterback for Philadelphia’s Wild Card showdown against the Packers from Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Leaving on a J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets plane: A Packers executive could become a member of the New York Jets.
Jon-Eric Sullivan , a top member of the Packers front office, is reportedly talking with the New York Jets about that team’s need for a general manager.
NFL Network reports the Jets are expected to interview Sullivan who is vice president of player personnel.
He is currently the third highest-ranking member of Green Bay’s front office.
Sullivan started his pro career as a scouting intern with the Packers in 2003.
He left, returned to the team, and then assumed his current position in 2022.
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