Eagles and Packers Will Meet Once Again

This year’s NFL wild card matchups are set. Your Philadelphia Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, January 12 at 4:30 p.m. We’ll preview the game all week long, of course, starting today with some playoff history between the two teams.

And while most of us will be obsessed with the Birds for a bit, we have you covered on the Flyers and Sixers fronts as well.

Stay warm out there!

In the email today:

• 🏆 Eagles and Packers Playoff History

• 🇨🇦 Flyers End Long Road Trip with Gutsy OT Loss in Toronto

• 🐱 Sixers Yuk It Up in Dead Cat Bounce Win Over Nets

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

The Eagles and Packers have a rich playoff history, despite squaring off just three times.

Dec. 26, 1960: Eagles Win NFL Championship

Vince Lombardi, you may have heard, was a pretty good football coach. They named a trophy after him and everything.

Lombardi won almost 75% percent of his regular season games as a head coach, led the Packers to five NFL championships (including the first two Super Bowls), and posted a 9-1 career record in the playoffs.

But on this day, playing at Franklin Field, the Eagles handed Lombardi and the Pack that lone loss.

January 11, 2004: 4th & 26

Decades later, the two teams met in the playoffs for the second time. Instead of Norm Van Brocklin and Bart Starr, the starting quarterbacks were Donovan McNabb and Brett Favre.

Though the Eagles were heavily favored coming into the game, the Packers jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The Birds fought back valiantly, but trailed 17-14 with 1:12 remaining in regulation.

Deep in their own territory, the situation was dire for Eagles coach Andy Reid and company: fourth down with 26 yards to go.

Then, somehow, McNabb connected with Freddie Mitchell for a first down.

David Akers sent the game to overtime with one field goal, then won it with another after Brian Dawkins intercepted Favre.

January 9, 2011: Revenge of the Packers

Seven years later, the QBs were Mike Vick and Aaron Rodgers.

Once again, the Packers led 14-0 early. And this time there would be no comeback. Akers missed two field goals, from 34 yards and 41 yards, in a 21-16 Eagles loss.

Green Bay would go on to defeat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

The Flyers set out on the road before Christmas for a six-game trip that started in Pittsburgh, wound through California and Nevada, and ended last night in Canada.

You might have excused them if they got smoked by the Maple Leafs last night, especially after falling behind 2-1 late in the first period.

They ultimately fell in overtime, but more than held their own against the leaders in the Atlantic Division.

Tyson Foerster and Scott Laughton had the Flyers’ goals. Ivan Fedotov looked rusty in goal early but shut the Leafs out in both the second and third periods.

Overtime against the Leafs in their building, with their skill players, ended about like you might have expected.

This result is in keeping with what might be the most serious concern some Flyers fans have about the team. They’re good enough to hover around .500, but they’re not talented enough to seriously challenge good teams.

Choosing John Tortorella to coach a team that for all intents and purposes is still rebuilding means the Flyers’ record might end up being too good for their own good.

Then again, you can’t tell players to give less than their best effort, especially with someone like Tortorella behind the bench.

The Flyers are home to take on the Leafs again Tuesday night.

What is a “dead cat bounce?” Glad you asked.

The Sixers stomped the Nets in Brooklyn on Saturday. Joel Embiid had 28 points and 12 rebounds. Three other starters scored 17 or more. It was a very comfortable win.

Maybe a little too comfortable for a 14-19 team, if you ask us.

Do you love to see it, though? Really? The Nets are atrocious and reeling from the fallout from pinning their hopes to two aging superstars.

Sound familiar to any team you know?

Meanwhile, the Sixers broadcast team got in on the revelry.

Nice to see we can make light of the Sixers setting the #1 pick — i.e., the whole point of The Process — on fire. The joke was so funny, they did it twice.

We’re not saying the Sixers shouldn’t be happy about a win. What we’re saying is that the sort of hopping around and falling out all over themselves they did on Saturday night is out of line for a January regular season win over a bad team.

Hopefully, no one will get injured celebrating if the Sixers beat the 15-18 Phoenix Suns tonight.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On January 6, 2019, there was a doink. Then another doink.

A “double-doink,” if you will.

📊 Poll

Results from Friday:

🔗 Links

• 🌴 Things have gone from bad to worse for former Sixer Jimmy Butler in Miami.

• 🦅 Former Eagle Carson Wentz got shut out in Denver.

• ⚾️ The Phillies could well have one more run in them.

• 💯 Villanova hung 100 on DePaul Saturday afternoon.

• 👀 We’re reserving comment on the Skip Bayless/Joy Taylor situation.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Monday, January 6, 2025

• Sixers vs. Suns, 7:00 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

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