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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coming off their most dominating performance of the season, the Eagles' defense suffered its most humbling defeat of the year as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers scored 39 points on offense points en route to their blowout 53-20 victory on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.
Things began to get away from the Eagles quickly as Rodgers and Co. raced out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead and a 30-6 lead at halftime. Rodgers finished 22-of-36 for 341 yards, three touchdowns and a 120.3 quarterback rating. The question posed in the locker room was whether the results were more of a reflection on the Eagles' defense or of an offense that is headed by one of the game's best quarterbacks.
"It's a combination," said defensive coordinator Bill Davis. "All we can look at is ourselves and we'll fix what was wrong out there today and we'll work hard at it. We've got a confident group of guys that hang together and we know that every now and then you have days like this. You don't want them, but they happen in the NFL. I think most of the big teams, even Green Bay, had one of these earlier in the season. We have to respond now. We have to work our tails off and get back and learn from what happened out there today and give them the credit where it's due.
"Give the credit to the Green Bay Packers and what they did today. We had a horrible day on every level."
On the day, Green Bay amassed 475 yards of total offense and controlled the game throughout. Their first seven drives resulted in four touchdowns, two field goals and only one punt. Early on, the Eagles' defense was especially disappointing on third down. The Packers were 8 for 14 on third downs, but converted 5-of-6 in the first half, including an influential third-and-18 that would lead to a touchdown (the play was originally third-and-23 before an offsides penalty).
"The third downs were probably most disappointing because we had third-and-manageable for us and (Rodgers) kept executing and we didn't," Davis said. "Aaron Rodgers is on fire right now and we gave him our best shot and it wasn't close to good enough today."
The Eagles' cornerbacks were a particular focus in the locker room after Packers receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb combined for 238 yards on 14 catches. Nelson, in particular, was a thorn in the side of the Eagles and Bradley Fletcher, who was victimized several times.
"He made a lot of plays," Fletcher said of Rodgers. "He was on target on a lot of throws. He was able to scramble today. He did a lot of good things. We have to go back and evaluate the film and get ready for next week."
Severe disappointment aside, the Eagles made things clear in the locker room that they won't allow Green Bay to beat them twice, as the saying goes.
"We'll watch the game," said outside linebacker Connor Barwin. "This is no different than any other week. You win, you lose, you look at the film and find the mistakes made and try to improve. Obviously, there were a lot more mistakes tonight that we'll need to correct, but you lose by 30, 40, whatever we lost by, or you lose by three, it's still one loss in the column."
The Eagles are in Green Bay to take on QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a critical NFC showdown ...
WR Jordan Matthews getting into the touchdown for an Eagles touchdown!
RB Darren Sproles zigging and zagging
RB LeSean McCoy in open space
LBs Trent Cole and Mychal Kendricks on the tackle
Team tackling for the Eagles defense
RB LeSean McCoy heading out to the field prior to the game
QB Matt Barkley warming up before today's game
Lambeau Field in Green Bay
Lambeau Field is ready for this NFC showdown!
Selfies before the game on Lambeau Field
Eagles fans out in full force in Green Bay
Fans are bundled up ready for the game
Welcome to the Leap Nest!
It's great seeing so many fans in Green Bay
TheRealMcCoy with some fans at Lambeau Field
Breaking it down before the game
QB Mark Sanchez is looking to have another big game
Inside the huddle
Head Coach Chip Kelly walking out to the field
C Jason Kelce and G/T Andrew Gardner walking out to the field
QB Mark Sanchez is ready for the elements of Green Bay
Eagles players getting their hands ready for the cold
RB Chris Polk getting warmed up in the cold weather
Covering the receiver on the downfield pass
LB Mychal Kendricks trying his luck at #Barwinning
QB Mark Sanchez back in the pocket
RB LeSean McCoy cutting through potential tacklers
WR Jeremy Maclin falling forward after catching the crossing route
LB Connor Barwin falling on the QB after the fumbled snap
G Evan Mathis blocking at the line of scrimmage
DT Bennie Logan prior to the game handling the cold weather
CB Cary Williams, TE Brent Celek, and S Chris Maragos during today's National Anthem
The captain for today's game
RB Chris Polk running down the field on kick coverage
LB Emmanuel Acho looking to make a tackle
CB Brandon Boykin making the tackle
LB Connor Barwin staring into the backfield prior to the snap
CB Cary Williams on the defense
RB LeSean McCoy breaking through the line of scrimmage
RB LeSean McCoy finding a hole and making plays
T Lane Johnson blocking for QB Mark Sanchez
QB Mark Sanchez looking for a downfield target
RB Darren Sproles getting tackled after a tough run
RB Darren Sproles fighting for extra yards
RB Chris Polk on the kick return
T Jason Peters doing his usual thing and being #TheBodyguard
RB Darren Sproles in the open field after a screen pass
K Cody Parkey making the first quarter field goal
S Malcolm Jenkins making the tackle
DE Fletcher Cox pushing through the offensive line
TE Zach Ertz making a catch and getting some extra yards
RB Darren Sproles cutting around defenders
TE Zach Ertz diving for extra yards
Head Coach Chip Kelly
T Lane Johnson
QB Mark Sanchez making a pass during the 2nd half
QB Mark Sanchez sliding up in the pocket
S Nate Allen standing in the defensive backfield
S Malcolm Jenkins making the tackle
LB Trent Cole down at the line of scrimmage before the snap
RB Darren Sproles in open space
TE Zach Ertz getting down on the grass to make a catch
WR Jordan Matthews fighting through contact and making the catch
WR Jordan Matthews completing the pass
K Cody Parkey is two for two on field goals thus far
WR Jeremy Maclin completing the pass and throwing out a stiff arm
WR Riley Cooper making a big catch
WR Jeremy Maclin with the stiff arm
QB Mark Sanchez slinging the ball
TE Zach Ertz running with the ball after the catch
WR Jeremy Maclin driving through the tackle with his shoulder
WR Jordan Matthews getting into the end zone
LB Trent Cole fighting through the block
The Eagles defense swarming the running back
WR Jordan Matthews diving into the end zone for a touchdown
RB Chris Polk returning kicks for the Eagles today
RB LeSean McCoy falling forward for extra yards
RB LeSean McCoy cutting past tackles
TE Zach Ertz making a 4th down catch
