Whether it was dominant defense or just ugly football depends on perspective — but in the end, Jaelan Phillips and the Eagles’ defense made sure the defending champs walked out of Lambeau with another win that mattered more than how it looked.
On a frigid night at Lambeau Field, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles proved that sometimes style points don’t matter. What did matter was finding a way to win — and thanks to a defense led by newcomer Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles did just enough to outlast the Green Bay Packers 10-7 in a defensive slugfest on Monday Night Football.
Phillips, acquired from the Miami Dolphins at the trade deadline, wasted no time making an impact in his Philadelphia debut. The edge rusher was responsible for two of the game’s defining plays — recovering a Jordan Love fumble late in the first half to stop a Green Bay scoring chance, and combining with safety Reed Blankenship to stuff Josh Jacobs on a critical fourth-and-1 late in the fourth quarter.
For much of the night, both offenses sputtered. It was the first NFL game to be scoreless at halftime since December 2023, and neither team managed a play longer than 20 yards through three quarters.
The Eagles (7-2) finally broke the stalemate with Jake Elliott’s 39-yard field goal on their opening drive of the second half. Then early in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia strung together its lone touchdown series — sparked by Saquon Barkley’s 41-yard catch-and-run on third-and-7. On the next snap, Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a 36-yard touchdown, as Smith outleaped safety Evan Williams in the corner of the end zone to make it 10-0 with 10:35 remaining.
The Packers (5-3-1) finally found life midway through the fourth quarter, with Josh Jacobs punching in a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 10-7. Green Bay’s defense held strong, forcing Philadelphia to turn it over on downs with under two minutes left, giving the Packers one last shot.
But on a crucial fourth-and-1 near midfield, Jacobs was stuffed cold — Phillips and Blankenship crashing down to deny him any forward momentum.
Even after that, Green Bay wasn’t finished. The Packers got the ball back with 27 seconds left and one timeout, advancing to the Eagles’ 46-yard line after Love’s 18-yard completion to Bo Melton. That set up Brandon McManus for a potential game-tying 64-yard field goal — but his kick fell several yards short, sealing Philadelphia’s gritty win.
The game featured just 474 combined yards of offense, six punts, and five fumbles. Both quarterbacks — Hurts and Love — struggled with timing, pressure, and cold-weather conditions. Yet to the Eagles, this was less about offensive frustration and more about championship defense.
Green Bay couldn’t exact revenge for last season’s two losses to the Eagles, including a 22-10 defeat in the NFC wild-card round. Adding extra spice to this matchup was the offseason controversy over the “tush push” — the quarterback sneak play the Eagles have perfected. The Packers were one of 22 teams that voted to ban it, though the measure failed by two votes. Fittingly, both teams ran successful sneaks on Monday — but otherwise, short-yardage success was rare.
The Packers’ second straight loss dropped them to third in the NFC North, behind the Lions and Bears, and they now cling to the conference’s seventh playoff spot. The Eagles, meanwhile, remain in firm control of their NFC East title defense.
Eagles: Host the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football. Packers: Visit the New York Giants on Sunday.
