2011 NFL Playoffs: Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles Preview

In an ironic sort of way, the Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) owe the Green Bay Packers (10-6) for their surprising 2010 season.

Had the Packers not bruised and battered the Eagles' original starting quarterback Kevin Kolb in the season's opening game, it's possible that Michael Vick would have never had his amazing comeback season.

While we will never know how Kolb would have fared over this years' 16-game schedule, it's clear that the emergence of Vick as one of the NFL's elite playmakers was the catalyst for the Eagles during their run to the NFC East title.

Be as it may, the Eagles' path will once again intersect with the Packers on Sunday in the NFC's Wild Card round of the playoffs.

If the Eagles win, Philadelphia will be on their way to Chicago for a Divisional round matchup with the Bears. If Green Bay wins, the Packers will head to Atlanta to face the Falcons.

What do the Packers need to do to stamp their ticket to Atlanta?

Containing Vick

Matching up against the Eagles is unlike any team in the NFL because there is no player in the league that is even similar to Vick.

While there are good athletes who play the quarterback position—Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Donovan McNabb to name a few—there is no one in the NFL, or probably its history, that can compare to the athleticism of Vick.

With that said, the biggest key for the Packers on Sunday will be containing the Eagles' quarterback.

If you flash back four months, the Packers were fortunate to leave Philadelphia 1-0 in the season opener. Vick was nearly unstoppable (I say nearly because the Packers finally stopped him on fourth and one) in the two and a half quarters he played.

His numbers—175 yards passing, one touchdown and no turnovers, with 103 yards rushing—will make it very hard to beat the Eagles if they are duplicated on Sunday.

So what's the recipe for beating Vick?

To be honest, there really isn't one. He's improved his overall quarterback play and is still one of the most dynamic playmakers in the open field.

Because of this, Vick almost represents two different players—a quarterback when he drops back and a running back when things break down.

However, he's far from invincible, and teams have been able to expose some of his weaknesses in recent weeks.

The Bears, Vikings and Giants (for three quarters) were able to contain Vick with pressure that routinely hit him, and by bringing that pressure from the left hand side, teams forced Vick to scramble to the right—negating his ability to throw on the run (he's left handed).

The Packers will need to do a mixture of those things on Sunday, and they seem to have the type of players on defense to do just that. 

And with a full week of preparation for solely Vick, it'd be hard to believe that the Packers wouldn't be more capable of keeping him under wraps than in Week 1. Does that mean they can do it though?

Goal: Keep Vick under 40 yards rushing, three or more sacks

Get the offense back on track

A week after thrashing the New York Giants' defense to the tune of 45 points, the Packers' offense was pretty quiet against the Bears. Historically quiet in fact.

Last Sunday marked the first time since 1959—Vince Lombardi's first game with the Packers— that the Packers beat Chicago by scoring 10 or fewer points.

However, in my estimation, the Bears have one of the NFL's better defenses. The Eagles, on the other hand, do not.

Philadelphia was 15th in both rushing (110.4 yards/game) and passing (216.8) defense, and the Eagles gave up 377 points—137 more than the Packers gave up this season.

That means the Packers should be able to get their offense back on track.

However, Aaron Rodgers needs to be more sharp than he was back in Week 1 (188 yards, two TD's, two INT's) for that to happen.

Yet looking over the Packers' passing offense the past three weeks shows they've been tough to stop.

Including Matt Flynn's performance in New England, Packers' quarterbacks have averaged 296 yards passing and nearly three touchdowns.

Green Bay will need to continue that hot play from their quarterbacks in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Goal: 240 yards passing, two or more TD's

Run the ball effectively

It's easy to preach offensive balance when the Packers are running the ball effectively, but it's another story when they struggle like they did against Chicago.

Coach Mike McCarthy probably understands that struggle better than anyone.

While McCarthy has shown a propensity to abandon the run when it gets off to a slow start, that can't happen on Sunday. When the Packers become one-dimensional, blitzing teams like the Eagles can pin their ears back and get after Rodgers and the passing game.

That means that the Packers will need to run the ball effectively on Sunday to ensure they keep their offense balanced.

I've said it a million times, but Green Bay's offense is the best in the NFL when the running game shows up, and they might need to be that good if this game turns into a shootout with Vick and the Eagles' offense.

If you remember back to Week 1, the Packers were solid in the run game, even when Ryan Grant went out in the second quarter. Green Bay was able to rush for 132 yards, more than 30 yards over what their season average would end up.

If the Packers' running game shows up in that same capacity this weekend, the Packers and their offense will be hard to keep off the scoreboard.

Goal: 120 yards rushing

Make Jackson, Maclin and McCoy work for the Eagles' points

While Vick has added an explosive aspect to the Eagles' quarterback position, there is plenty of big play ability to go around in Philadelphia's offense.

Receivers Desean Jackson (47 catches, 1,056 yards, six TD's) and Jeremy Maclin (70, 964, 10), and running back Lesean McCoy (1,080 rushing, 592 receiving) can all turn any play into six points in a hurry if given the chance.

In fact, the Eagles lead the NFL in plays over 40 yards with 21, and Jackson (8), Maclin (4), and McCoy (6) have contributed 18 of those plays.

That makes the Eagles' offense very dangerous in terms of quick strike ability, but the Packers' defense needs to make sure that Philadelphia has to work for every point they get on Sunday.

Green Bay possesses the NFL's second ranked scoring defense (15/game), but their bend-but-don't-break style will be tested by the Eagles trio of playmakers.

However, if the Packers can limit the vertical plays and make the Eagles continually have to traverse long fields, Green Bay's vastly underrated defense will have the opportunity to stop the Eagles' daunting offense.

If you need any more evidence of that, let me throw a stat at you:

The Eagles are 10-1 when they connect on a play over 40 yards, and 0-5 when they don't.

Goal: No Eagles' plays over 40 yards

Special Teams

In a surprising turn of events, the Packers' special teams actually outplayed the Bears last week. While I'd be weary to expect that every week out of this bunch, the Packers need to be near as good this week.

The Eagles' Jackson can be equally dangerous as a punt returner as Chicago's Devin Hester, and Packers punter Tim Masthay will need a do another solid job in directional and situational kicking this week.

And while there hasn't been much discussion about Masthay's special teams sidekick Mason Crosby in recent weeks, that's a good thing for him. However, Crosby has connected on very few clutch kicks in his career, and a game as even as this could come down to a single kick.

Goal: Continue success from last week

Road Killers

Finally, the Packers need to avoid the two things that will kill you on the road: penalties and turnovers.

In Week 1, the Eagles were called for penalties 10 times and the Packers only four, but there is no room for Green Bay to get even close to the 18 they had in a Week 3 game in Chicago.

Penalties can stall drives on offense, and they can extend opposing drives on defense. A combination of those can spell defeat away from home.

However, offensive turnovers would be the shovel to the Packers' postseason grave. Nothing kills momentum and jump starts it for the opponent like turnovers do, and they simply can't happen if you want to win on the road in the postseason.

Goal: six or fewer penalties, and one or fewer offensive turnovers.

Overall

To me, Sunday's game against the Eagles might be the Packers' toughest game if they were to reach the Super Bowl this year.

Regardless of the Eagles' recent struggles, they're simply that good.

Vick makes Philadelphia the most difficult team to match up for the Packers, and he proved in Week 1 how dangerous he can be against the Green Bay defense.

His legs can negate much of the Packers' pass rush, and if he doesn't turn the ball over, the Eagles' offense will be hard to stop.

With that said, the Packers' offense should be equally as effective on Sunday. The Eagles' defense is undermanned in the secondary, and Green Bay has the ability to run against their front seven.

However, a shootout should favor the Eagles at home. The Packers' win in Week 1 was the first time Green Bay has won in Philadelphia in over 40 years, and the Packers are currently 0-2 against the Eagles in the playoffs.

Finally, I think the injuries to Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant will shift the balance from the Week 1 matchup.

While Rodgers will have another solid playoff start, he's going to start his career 0-2 in the postseason. Vick and his playmaking offense will start fast and keep their foot on the pedal, and David Akers makes the clutch kick that Crosby couldn't make. Eagles beat the Packers 34-31.

A big thanks to Michael Walters for his contributions to this preview.