Green Bay Packers defeat Philadelphia Eagles in Wild Card weekend (Part 2)
Vick took his chance to start as a sign, and made his way to the best season of his career. He was also voted to be the starting quarterback for the National Football Conference (NFC) team in the Pro Bowl to be held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on
30 January. He can actually take part in the Pro Bowl now that the Eagles have been eliminated from the play-offs.
This was the Packers’ third successive win in a game with the threat of elimination. They beat the New York Giants in late December to stay in the play-offs, and then overcame the Chicago Bears last week to grab a play-off spot.
The Eagles were the favourites to win the game, after an amazing comeback victory over the Giants on 19 December. However, a loss to one of the lowest ranked teams in the NFL cost the Eagles a bye for the first round. They lost to the Minnesota Vikings and
their rookie quarterback, Joe Webb, on December 28. At that point, it looked like their Super Bowl chances were gone.
One of the factors in the Eagles losing was Pro Bowl kicker David Akers. He completed 32 out of 38 field goals this season, and 19 of 23 between 30 and 49 yards. However, he missed two in Sunday’s game; one for 34 yards and the other for 41.
"We can all count, and those points would have helped," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.
The Packers are well known for their passing game and great defence. However, they added a new weapon to their arsenal, and that’s rookie Starks. He had 23 carries for 123 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry and the longest run was 27 yards. Starks may
even become the next dynamic rookie much like DeSean Jackson has been for the Eagles. Starks ran for the most yards in one game as a rookie in team history.
The Packers have had a rather troubling season in terms of rushing, after losing Ryan Grant for the season in Week one. However, they found the weakness in the Eagles’ defence and took full advantage of it.
It seems as though the Eagles had been prepared to stop Green Bay’s passing attack, which means that they did not expect them to send a runner, especially a rookie. The Packers saw this and overwhelmed the defence.
However, the Eagles defence wasn’t horrible. After Vick ran in for a one-yard touchdown with just over four minutes left, the defence stood fast and held the Packers within their own 34-yard line. The Eagles got the ball back with 1:45 left at their own
44 because of an offensive holding penalty.
From there, Vick completed a 28-yard pass to Jackson, which put them at Green Bay’s 38-yard line. The next completed pass was on 3rd and 10 to Riley Cooper for 11 yards to Green Bay’s 27.
At this point, Vick messed up. The pass intended for Cooper was intercepted by Williams in the end zone, who brought it back to their own 4-yard line. Rodgers then knelt, ending the game with Green Bay winning.
Cooper and Jackson both felt that Vick should have spiked the ball at that point. This would have given them a chance to huddle for the final play of the game but Vick had other ideas.
The remaining game will be discussed in the part 3.
Tags: