Green Bay at Philadelphia

Sporting News, The, Jan 12, 2004

When Green Bay has the ball: Largely because of injuries up front, the Eagles have been miserable against the run much of the second hall of the season. Look for the Packers to try to wear down the line with Ahman Green and the running game. The Packers should be able to generate some long drives on the ground, but passing yardage will be harder to come by. Because Eagles CBs Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor and Lito Sheppard match up very well in man coverage against Packers WRs Robert Ferguson, Donald Driver and Javon Walker, the Eagles' safeties will be able to crowd the line and coordinator Jim Johnson can be as aggressive as he likes with blitzes. That consistent pressure should lead to a mistake or two by QB Brett Favre.

When Philadelphia has the hall" The Packers' biggest weakness the first hall of the season--stopping the run---has become a strength, so the Eagles will win or lose this game in the air. Even without Brian Westbrook, the Eagles figure to use backs Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter more as receivers than runners. Look for QB Donovan McNabb to distribute the ball from a multitude of three-receiver, one-back, one-tight end sets. The Packers play a lot of man-to-man coverage, which forces their back seven to frequently turn and run with their backs to the line of scrimmage. As a result, McNabb should eat up chunks of yardage on the ground.

Bottom line: McNabb should be the story of this game. His ability to run and spread the ball around the field will allow him to outduel Favre and lead the Eagles to their third consecutive trip to the NFC championship game. Pick: Eagles 26, Packers 24.