Packers’ loss to the Eagles reveals subtle signs of what could come next in every phase of the team
Green Bay lost second consecutive home game, and things are starting to feel more fragile.
The Green Bay Packers lost 10-7 to the Philadelphia Eagles, falling to 5-3-1 in the third place of the NFC North. The team is now handling multiple injuries at key spots — including a new one, with center Elgton Jenkins set to miss significant time with a low-leg fracture.
On Sunday, the Packers play the New York Giants. After that, the team enters a sequence playing five of the following seven games inside the division to finish out the regular season — and those games will determine whether or not Green Bay goes to the postseason.
Snapcount observations
The Eagles game offered some intriguing hints for analysis in terms of playing time. Let’s dive into the snapcounts to understand what the coaching staff is thinking.
> Romeo Doubs suffered an undisclosed injury and couldn’t return to the game, so Christian Watson played 82% of the offensive snaps and ended up being the most used wide receiver on the team. Surprisingly, Bo Melton played 38% of the snaps at wide receiver (26 total), more than he had played throughout all the previous games combined, after being converted to cornerback in training camp. He comfortably outsnapped Malik Heath (29%) and Savion Williams (9%).
> At tight end, Luke Musgrave was on the field for 76% of the snaps, versus 21% for John FitzPatrick and 9% for recently-promoted Josh Whyle.
> Another way of replacing Tucker Kraft was the usage of a sixth lineman. Darian Kinnard played four snaps, even after Elgton Jenkins was down with an ankle injury.
> For the first time this regular season, the Packers activated five interior defensive linemen for gameday, and all of them played defensive snaps: Devonte Wyatt (65%), Colby Wooden (59%), Karl Brooks (51%), Warren Brinson (14%), and Nazir Stackhouse (6%).
> Without Nate Hobbs, both Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine played 100% of the defensive snaps. That also stressed the depth at safety, with Evan Williams (86%) and Javon Bullard (60%) playing the majority of the time. Zayne Anderson and Kitan Oladapo also had one defensive snap each. The backup cornerbacks (Bo Melton and Kamal Hadden) haven’t played defensive snaps this season, which shows how tough and thin the depth is at the position.
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Packers Playoff Picture: Green Bay has little margin for error after a sequence of bad performances and results
Packers are now third place in the NFC North, behind the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.
