After dismantling the Carolina Panthers Monday night the Philadelphia Eagles face a much more difficult task this week. The Eagles, first in the NFC East, travel to what will be a frigid Green Bay to take on the surging Packers, currently second to Detroit in the NFC North. This game will feature two high-powered offenses playing against solid defenses.
The key matchups will be Packers wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb against the Eagles biggest weakness, cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Williams and Fletcher both had good games against Carolina but Sunday will be far more difficult. Aaron Rodgers is having another MVP-type season and will get his yards against a defense that still is way too susceptible to the big play. With DeMeco Ryans out for the season, Casey Matthews will again start in the middle of the Eagles defense. He will need to be at his best to help contain Eddie Lacy and the Packers running game.
For the Eagles offense, the best thing they can do is get the running game going. LeSean McCoy and others have expressed frustration in recent weeks over the ineffectiveness of the run game. The key will be how Clay Matthews responds to being moved to inside linebacker. According to younger brother Casey he wasn't happy about it. He wasn't really challenged last week as the game against Chicago became a blowout early and Chicago never really tried to run the ball. Also, how will Mark Sanchez respond to a more difficult challenge in his second start? If he can play well and limit his mistakes the Eagles will be tough to beat. The team must again keep turnovers and bad penalties to a minimum and establish the run game to be successful Sunday.