Why Packers will need to beat Eagles with more than run game on Sunday

Josh Jacobs and the Packers’ offensive line dominated in the run game better than any Green Bay team in two decades. But none of that will matter on Sunday if Green Bay’s defense doesn’t play complementary football.

FOX analyst Greg Olsen said this week that when the Packers (11-6) visits Philadelphia (14-3) on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX), they need to earn the right to carry the ball.

“I think the key point you have to recognize any time you talk about a team that’s going to be able to run the ball more and more effectively,” Olsen said Wednesday on the NFL on FOX Podcast, “you have to look on the other side of the ball. Defensively, they played really well and you can only run the ball in direct proportion to how well you play defense — especially in a matchup like this against Philadelphia, one of the most explosive run-and-pass teams in the league, if not the No. 1.”

Olsen should know. When he helped Carolina to a Super Bowl berth in 2015, the tight end was part of the league’s second-ranked rushing offense. The three-time Pro Bowler said Wednesday that Green Bay has to first shut down Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

“If you can’t slow the game down and play the possession game,” Olsen said, “you’re just not going to have enough possessions to score enough points. It’s just the way it goes. So, everything is contingent on how well Green Bay’s defense slows down Philadelphia’s offense. The more punts, the more takeaways, the more field-goal tries that you make Philadelphia attempt, the more patient and willing Matt LaFleur can be letting that run game dominate.”

They might get that opportunity. Brown missed practice Thursday and Smith missed practice Friday, although both players are expected to play. Hurts, meanwhile, has played just 12 snaps over the last four weeks; he finally cleared the concussion protocol on Friday. Don’t be surprised if the Packers load up the line of scrimmage to take away Barkley and dare Philadelphia to throw the ball.

Green Bay’s defense ranked fifth in total yards allowed per game (314.5) and sixth in points (19.5). The Packers were seventh against the run and 19^th against the pass. Perhaps more importantly, Green Bay finished fourth with 31 takeaways and tied for third with a plus-12 turnover ratio.

Jacobs, meanwhile, had a historic season in his first campaign since signing with the Packers as un unrestricted free agent. Authoring the best individual season by a Packers back in 21 years, he finished sixth in the league with 1,329 rushing yards and fourth with 15 rushing touchdowns. But don’t expect to see him doing much more than pass blocking if the Eagles build a big lead.

“All of a sudden you fall down two scores,” said Olsen, “all of a sudden this turns into a 30-point race, you’re not going to hand the ball off 35 times and think you’re going to score 30 points. It’s just not going to happen. So, it’s a very interesting conversation. I think people need to make sure they spend enough time to say your ability to run is important, but it’s only as important as your ability to play defense.”

For more information on the Packers and Eagles, visit the Green Bay and Philadelphia team pages at ProFootballPost.com.