Now comes the hard part.
Throttling a one-legged Cam Newton in front of a national TV audience was nice, doing the same to Mr. Double-Check himself Aaron Rodgers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field is something else altogether.
This is a statement game.
Unfortunately for the Birds, I think it will be Rodgers making the statement.
The Eagles best chance is something that Chip Kelly and their offense has not really done consistently this year. That is run the ball, in the process keep Rodgers on the sidelines. Kelly has been pretty much pass-happy. That too often leads to turnovers, something first-time starter Mark Sanchez avoided last week.
I like Sanchez, although I would like him a lot more if he was under center rather than in the shotgun. I think the run game suffers for some reason in the shotgun.
This should be a day for LeSean McCoy and his partners in grime, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk. The Packers are susceptible to the run, but Kelly has to commit to it early, and stick with it even if he doesn’t have initial success. Unfortunately, in the meantime Rodgers likely will be putting points on the board. The Eagles’ defense has played better than accepted this year, shutting down some teams entirely, while showing a weakness for the big play. That could prove deadly vs. Rodgers.
I’d love to pick the Birds here, and I’m not saying it’s impossible, but still fairly improbable. There is also the matter of the Pack likely smarting just a bit from last year, when the Eagles beat them on that same field while Rodgers was on the shelf.
I’ll go with Rodgers.
But if the Eagles go into Lambeau and come away with a win, brace yourself for a serious case of Super Bowl Fever.
The Pick: Make it Packers 33, Eagles 24. Mark Sanchez is a very good guy to have around when your starter goes down. He is not Aaron Rodgers.
Season Record: I loved Mark Sanchez in his debut vs. the Panthers. He didn’t disappoint and the win made lifted the Birds to a lofty 7-2 on the season. I was on board and managed to lift my record to 6-3. We’re parting ways again this week.
Game by Game: Eagles 45, Panthers 21 (My Pick: Eagles 33, Panthers 17)
Eagles 31, Texans 21 (My Pick: Eagles 29, Texans 19)
Cardinals 24, Eagles 20 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Cardinals 23)
Eagles 27, Giants 0 (My Pick: Giants 31, Eagles 26)
Eagles 34, Rams 28 (My Pick: Eagles 35, Rams 19)
49ers 26, Eagles 21 (My Pick: 49ers 33, Eagles 29)
Eagles 34, Jaguars 17 (My Pick: Eagles 31, Jags 16)
Eagles 30, Colts 27 (My Pick: Colts 29, Eagles 23)
Eagles 37, Redskins 34 (My Pick: Eagles 24, Redskins 23)
Comments