Jaelan Phillips' productive Eagles
debut paces dominant defense in 10-7 win over Packers
[November 11, 2025]
By STEVE MEGARGEE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jaelan Phillips could sense the different
mentality that a defending champion exudes as soon as the
Philadelphia Eagles added him at the trade deadline.
Phillips wasted no time doing his part to contribute to the Eagles’
title defense.
In his first game with the Eagles since they acquired him from the
Miami Dolphins, Phillips made two of the biggest plays of the game
to help Philadelphia outlast the Green Bay Packers 10-7 on Monday
night.
“The biggest thing I noticed was just no panic,” Phillips said. “The
whole entire time, there was just utmost confidence on both sides of
the ball. It felt really good to be in that environment."
Phillips recovered a fumble by Jordan Love to thwart a Green Bay
scoring opportunity in the final minute of the first half and helped
make a fourth-and-1 stop late in the fourth quarter.
“He loves football,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He loves
working. You could just see it, the way he was running around in
practice. His motor is constantly, constantly running.”
Jalen Hurts threw a 36-yard pass to DeVonta Smith with 10:35
remaining for Philadelphia’s only touchdown, giving the Eagles a
10-0 lead. Green Bay's lone touchdown came on Josh Jacobs’ 6-yard
run with 5:49 left.
Brandon McManus' attempt at a game-tying, 64-yard field goal as time
expired fell several yards short.
“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter fistfight,” Packers coach
Matt LaFleur said. “I thought our defense was outstanding, and
unfortunately, just too many mistakes offensively to overcome it.”
Green Bay's second straight loss dropped the Packers (5-3-1) to
third place in the NFC North, behind Detroit and Chicago. The
Packers, who had the NFC’s best record before their 16-13 loss to
Carolina on Nov. 2, would have the conference’s seventh and final
playoff seed if the regular season ended now.
A defensive struggle that featured the first halftime tie of the
season had a serious lack of big plays until the Eagles (7-2)
delivered a one-two punch early in the fourth quarter.
Philadelphia led 3-0 and faced third-and-7 from its own 23 when
Saquon Barkley caught a pass 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage,
made a spin move past cornerback Carrington Valentine and burst
upfield for a 41-yard gain.
On the next play, Smith made a leaping catch in the end zone over
safety Evan Williams.
“We have huge sparks," said Barkley, who was limited to 60 yards on
22 carries. "With the type of talent we have on this offense and on
this team, two to three plays, it’s just crazy. (In) two to three
plays, we can go downfield and score.”
After cutting the lead to 10-7, the Packers had a couple more
opportunities in the closing minutes.
One drive ended when Jacobs fumbled while getting stuffed on
fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 44 with 1 1/2 minutes remaining.
Phillips and Reed Blankenship teamed up on the stop.
Green Bay had one last chance with 27 seconds left from its own 36
after the Eagles threw a long incompletion on fourth-and-6 rather
than punting or attempting a long field goal into the wind.
[to top of second column] |
Green Bay Packers place kicker Brandon McManus (17) misses a field
goal attempt against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half
of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis.
(AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
An 18-yard completion from Love to Bo Melton got
the Packers beyond midfield, but McManus couldn't convert what would
have been the longest field goal in team history.
“We're just kind of shooting ourselves in the foot right now,
getting in a funk of having some good plays and then not building
off them properly and having a play that might hurt the drive and we
can't overcome it,” Love said.
The Packers couldn’t get a measure of revenge against the defending
Super Bowl champions.
Philadelphia had beaten the Packers twice last season, including a
22-10 victory in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs.
During the offseason, the Packers proposed banning the tush push
that Philadelphia has used so effectively in short-yardage
situations over the last few years. The measure was supported by 22
of the NFL’s 32 teams, two votes shy of the three-quarters majority
needed for passage.
The Packers actually executed the first quarterback sneak of the
game, and Love didn’t need a push to convert a fourth-and-1.
Philadelphia answered with a tush push that gave Hurts a 3-yard gain
on third-and-1.
There weren’t many other successful plays by either offense for much
of the night.
This was the first NFL game to be scoreless at halftime since Dec.
10, 2023, when both the Minnesota Vikings’ 3-0 victory over the Las
Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets’ 30-6 triumph over the Houston
Texans had no first-half points.
Philadelphia finally broke through when Jake Elliott’s 39-yard field
goal capped the Eagles’ opening series of the second half.
Injuries
Eagles: RT Lane Johnson went to the locker room with an ankle injury
in the second quarter but returned in the fourth quarter. C Cam
Jurgens (knee) didn't play.
Packers: C Elgton Jenkins (ankle) and WR Romeo Doubs (chest) left
the game. WR Matthew Golden (shoulder), DL Lukas Van Ness (foot) and
CB Nate Hobbs (knee) didn't play.
Up next
Eagles: Host the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.
Packers: Visit the New York Giants on Sunday.
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