Follow the Packers v playoff games. Eagles and Commanders v. Bucs this Sunday on RDS and RDS.ca.
SUMMARY
The playoff duel between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles will indeed pit the starting quarterbacks of the two teams against each other.
Their health report is not without the slightest question mark, but both Jordan Love (elbow injury) and Jalen Hurts (symptoms of a concussion) have obtained the green light from doctors to participate in the meeting.
After their meeting in Week No. 1 in Brazil, won 34-29 by the Eagles, the stakes will be quite higher this time.
Last year, in a similar underdog role as the seventh seed in the National, Green Bay managed to surprise the Dallas Cowboys.
It was the first time since the NFL changed its playoff format that a seventh-seeded club managed to advance to the second round.
Such success will not be an easy task, however, since the Eagles have won 12 of their most recent 13 games, and they will be the only team with each of the 22 starters who played the first game of the season.
The Packers will of course have the mandate to stop star running back Saquon Barkley, who could well have threatened Eric Dickerson’s rushing yards record, had it not been for the bye week he benefited from to conclude the regular season. .
And if Matt LaFleur’s squad manages to surprise on the opposing lawn for a second consecutive year, they will have done so without their best pass receiver, Christian Watson, who suffered a torn ligament in his knee to cruelly end his campaign .
-Commanders v. Bucs at 8 p.m.
The evening match could provide fireworks on the offensive level with two teams having finished in the top-5 for points scored on offense.
On the one hand, we find experience with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers led by quarterback Baker Mayfield. The latter signed victories in six of their last seven matches to secure the title of the South division of the Nationale.
In front of them, they will have one of the great stories of the last season in the NFL with quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. In his rookie season, Daniels exceeded expectations, as did the Commanders who went 12-5.
The two teams faced each other at the start of the season and the Bucs won 37-20.
Mayfield is in his second season at the helm of the Bucs’ offense. The latter has averaged almost 32 points in seven games since the team’s bye week.
Obviously, the Tampa team savored its division title in the last game of the regular schedule against the New Orleans Saints, but the players also celebrated when receiver Mike Evans crossed the 1,000-yard mark for an 11th consecutive season on the last play of this game. He thus joined Jerry Rice who holds the record.
Daniels helped the Commanders turn things around, after only posting four wins in 17 games last season. The rookie recorded 25 touchdown passes against nine interceptions during the regular season. We will have to see how he does in his eliminatory baptism.
