GREEN BAY – For everything ailing their offense, the Packers had a chance until the final whistle on Monday night against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
That was thanks to an inspired defensive showing.
The Eagles did just enough to squeak out of Lambeau Field with a 10-7 win over Green Bay, but an offense that had scored 56 points in its last two games was largely neutralized while producing points on just two of 10 offensive possessions.
Defensively, the Packers generated a takeaway in their fourth consecutive game with Edgerrin Cooper's forced fumble of Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts on the Eagles' opening drive.
While containing All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley to just 60 yards on 22 carries, the defense twice caused the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs – the second giving the offense the ball back at the Green Bay 35 with 27 seconds remaining.
It was the third time this year the Packers dropped a game in which the opponent was held to 16 or fewer points.
"We were able to hold down their rush game for the most part and keep Jalen from scrambling and limit their deep passing attack," defensive end Kingsley Enagbare said. "Pretty much made them earn every blade, but ultimately we came up short."
Philadelphia pushed the ball downfield on its opening drive, which began with Hurts successfully converting on third-and-1 with a "tush push." Barkley gained 15 yards on the next play out of a jumbo formation, but it would be his only double-digit gain.
That itself was an encouraging step in the right direction for a Packers defense that eight days earlier yielded 163 rushing yards to Rico Dowdle and the Carolina Panthers in a 16-13 defeat.
All told, the Eagles ran the ball 34 times for just 111 yards (3.3 yards per carry).
"We stepped up," defensive lineman Micah Parsons said. "We hopped back into our adjustment, and this was a better offensive line than last weekend. We made our adjustments and said we weren't going to lose that way again, and I think that was an important adjustment. So I'm happy we got better in that aspect, which helped with the score."
The Eagles drove the ball down to the Green Bay 24 on their first possession before Cooper punched the ball out of Hurts' grasp on a QB run. It was just the fourth giveaway Philadelphia has had in nine games this season.
Philadelphia went three-and-out on its next two drives before again having to punt before the two-minute warning after a series of penalties.
The Eagles gained just enough traction coming out of halftime on a 10-play, 50-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 39-yard Jake Elliott field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
After another three-and-out, Barkley broke a tackle and gained 41 yards on a third-and-7 checkdown to set up a 36-yard touchdown pass to De'Vonta Smith. That four-play, 80-yard drive made it 10-0 at the time and accounted for more than quarter of Philly's offensive production on the evening.
"They're pretty good at getting on the ball, and after an explosive trying to get another one and catching you when you're a little tired," said safety Evan Williams, who was in coverage on Smith's TD.
"But it was just a good player making a good play. Looking back, I could have stayed true to my leverage a little more, maybe fight a little more at the catch point, but they had a good play drawn up and he made a good catch."
The defense still bounced back and made two stops in the final 2 minutes, 25 seconds of regulation to give Green Bay a shot at the comeback.
It was a positive sign for a defense that struggled earlier this season to close out games in the fourth quarter.
"Discipline," said Parsons when asked about the difference. "We started getting more disciplined and guess what, we started getting more stops. Even in the run game today, our discipline. We just need discipline in all three phases, and we could win more games."
Despite the Packers struggling to put points on the board, Parsons and several other defenders voiced their confidence in the offense and its ability to find answers.
"I don't think I'm concerned," cornerback Keisean Nixon said. "We just gotta keep making plays and stepping up as a unit, as a full team – all sides of the ball, special teams, offense, defense. You can't win the game just playing one side of the ball. That's not how it works. We gotta be a team. We're gonna keep rallying as a team. We're just gonna keep getting better and go back to work. It's not over."
