The Philadelphia Eagles are getting ready for their biggest game of the season in a Monday Night Football showdown with the Green Bay Packers, in a game that could be ripe with playoff implications. With this in mind, the Eagles will welcome any possible advantage, including a forecast that unquestionably benefits Philly, according to Accuweather.
There is a chance of snow with game time temp expected to be around 31 degrees, with it dipping well into the 20s by the time the game concludes. A gritty and punishing game that clearly is going to work to Philly's benefit.
Early Weather Report Offers Eagles Advantage vs. Packers
While cold weather can benefit running backs, Packers RB Josh Jacobs has been dealing with a calf injury (h/t CBS Sports) and is the obvious source of offense the Packers need in this type of weather. Pounding the football and attempting to shorten the game is exactly how the matchup is going to be decided, and Green Bay's offense could be limited if he isn't 100%.
Furthering this point is the fact that the Philly defense beats you by throwing body blows. Hard hits and pressure that wear on the offense and set up the second half to fall in the Eagles' favor. In a cold game like this, that skill set is only magnified with the cold making each hit sting just a bit more. While this is true for Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts as well, both rushers have the benefit of a bye week to get healthy and aren't nursing the injuries of Jacobs.
While Jacobs is banged up and going to be absorbing punishing hits in the cold, the Eagles have the advantage of Barkley and Hurts. Barkley is coming off his best performance of the season with 150 rushing yards and four catches against the New York Giants in Week 8, as well as two touchdowns, enjoying his first multi-touchdown game of the season.
Meanwhile, Hurts' mobility will also be an asset. The veteran signal-caller is up to 207 rushing yards and five TDs on 58 carries so far, and has scored a whopping 60 TDs on the ground since debuting in 2020.
Clearly, this adds up to an advantage even as the Eagles travel to Green Bay in a road game that feels very close to a must-win. If Philly is going to maintain control of the top seed in the conference, this simply isn't a game you can drop.
The focus for the Eagles needs to establishing Barkley early on and using Hurts as the change of pace runner to keep the defense off balance. There simply isn't any justification for another approach based on how the Eagles are built and the advantage the weather so clearly offers.
No other roster is better built to go in and establish the run and quickly run out the clock. We saw this against the Los Angeles Rams in last year's playoffs in what was the closest game of Philly's postseason. However, it was clear that as great as the Los Angeles roster was, it simply wasn't built to pound the ball and deal with the elements.
The same cannot be said of the Eagles, who have the experience and the needed pieces to go in and take advantage of a less-than-ideal forecast when they visit Lambeau Field on Monday night.