Just like the betting odds, even veteran NFL coach Jon Gruden is backing the Philadelphia Eagles to come out on top in their NFC Wild Card clash against the Packers.
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In Gruden’s latest YouTube video, the former Bucs head coach predicted a 26-21 victory for Jalen Hurts & Co. for several reasons. For starters, the Eagles are entering the matchup on the back of a convincing victory against the Giants. They also enter having won 12 of their last 13 games.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ counterparts, meanwhile, will be entering the clash with a defeat against the Bears in the season finale. Secondly, as Jon noted, the Eagles will be entering the battlefield with a psychological advantage, having won their most recent clash against the Packers in Brazil [34-29].
Add to this, the Eagles’ superior roster, and Jon Gruden had no doubt the Jalen Hurts & Co. would reign supreme in their NFC Wild Clash.
“Green Bay has lost their last two regular season games and the Philadelphia Eagles have won 12 out of their last 13… The Eagles are a very well-rounded team. This should be a hell of a battle like earlier in the season when these two teams met in Brazil [and] if you can remember, the Packers lost to the Eagles 34 to 29… I love the Eagles and the Packers but you can only pick one, so I’m going with the Philadelphia Eagles 26-21.”
That said, Gruden didn’t dismiss the Packers’ chances so easily. Despite being the 7th seed, Green Bay showed last season that winning from the lowest seed is not an impossible task. Against the odds, the Packers had outplayed the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card clash.
Gruden noted that this psychological element makes the Packers a dangerous team. He also respected the talent pool at Greenbay and argued that despite expecting the Eagles to win, the matchup would go down the wire at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Green Bay won’t be intimidated. Being the seventh seed last year, they went on the road to Dallas, boom, and they knocked the Cowboys out of the playoffs. Green Bay is dangerous. They’re talented… I do expect this to be a game that goes down to the wire in South Philly.”
Having established the matchup to be a close affair, Gruden went on to reveal three key events that must happen for the Philadelphia Eagles to make his prediction come true. First, Jon hoped for TE Dallas Goedert to be playing like his usual self against the Packers owing to the dynamism he brings to the Eagles’ offense.
Second, Jon urged the Eagles to steer clear of penalties. And third, the veteran coach hoped that Jalen Hurts would not be rusty in his return from injury. If these three factors align, the Eagles should edge out the Packers by the finest of margins.
“I like Dallas Goedert’s return as he could be an unsung hero for the Eagles offense. But they have got to do a great job staying away from penalties and they got to make sure their QB has the dust knocked off of him in the first couple of plays of this game because he hasn’t played in a couple weeks.”
On paper, the Philadelphia Eagles are the clear favorite for their NFC Wild Card Clash. But as we have seen time and time again, football is an unpredictable game, often defying logic. Safe to say, we have an exciting clash ahead of us, as the Packers definitely won’t fold without a fight.
