Eagles Packers Will Be The Tale Of Two Quarterbacks
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Name this quarterback:
He's coming off a game in which he threw for 332 yards and two scores in leading his first-place club into a meeting of NFC contenders at Lambeau Field.
The answer is not Aaron Rodgers. It is Mark Sanchez.
Really.
The New York Jets castoff has been a success so far as fill-in quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Come Sunday, Sanchez will be thrust into a cold-weather track meet with Rodgers and another team that likes to go up-tempo, the Green Bay Packers.
Sanchez has taken well so far to running Eagles coach Chip Kelly's high-octane offense since taking over for the injured Nick Foles.
"He looked good in space, I thought he threw the ball, you see the athletic ability. Those are the kind of things we're focused on," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Conceptually, probably a wrinkle or two, but we don't see a big change there hopefully."
Don't expect any major surprises from Rodgers. He's just having another exceptional season with 25 touchdown passes to three interceptions. Six of those scores came last week in the first half of a 55-14 rout of Chicago. Beating the Eagles' aggressive defense figures to be a much harder test for the Packers (6-3).
Philadelphia defeated Green Bay 27-13 last season at Lambeau, though that was the first game for the Packers after Rodgers got knocked out with a left collarbone injury.
Now it is the Eagles (7-2) playing without their starting quarterback, though there hasn't been a drop in production.
"It all comes down to decision making," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said, referring to Sanchez. "If he makes good decisions, whether it's in the run game or in the pass game, then you get a chance to do what you want on offense."
Some things to watch when the teams meet in chilly Green Bay:
GETTING TO RODGERS: There are few quarterbacks in the league better at extending plays than Rodgers, who showed no lingering effects last week from a sore left hamstring. The Packers' quick-strike offense can beat foes on screens to running back Eddie Lacy or deep balls to receiver Jordy Nelson.
The Eagles, second in the NFL with 32 sacks, are coming off a game in which linebacker Connor Barwin got to Carolina's Cam Newton 3 1/2 times. Packers starting guards Josh Sitton (toe) and T.J. Lang (ankle) played well last week with injuries, though they are admittedly not at 100 percent.
WHERE'S CLAY?: One of the biggest keys to the Green Bay defense's shutdown last week against the Bears was the move of linebacker Clay Matthews inside when the Packers played with five defensive backs. Matthews would be one of two inside linebackers on the field in that scheme.
Matthews finished with a career-high 11 tackles and a sack. The Packers shored up their run defense. With the element of surprise gone, McCarthy has been coy about how often the Packers might stick with Matthews inside.
BROTHERLY LOVE: Matthews could have received advice about the move from his younger brother, Casey, who is a starting inside linebacker for the Eagles.
"Going from outside backer, always going after the quarterback and playing stacked and taking on linemen and having to tackle running backs, it was a little different," Casey Matthews said. "He had a pretty good game. I told him he's the highest-paid inside backer in the league."
The brothers are downplaying Sunday's game.
"We try not to treat the situation any bigger than it is," Casey Matthews said.
ON THE RUN: Two of the best running backs in the league in 2013 aren't quite making the same impact this season.
Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy, is coming off a 12-carry, 19-yard outing against Carolina. The Packers, ranked 30th against the run, hope they've figured out their issues on the ground. Lacy is averaging just 53 yards per game on the ground, though he has emerged as a receiver the last two games. Lacy turned a screen pass into a 56-yard score last week.
TEMPO TEST: Both teams like to push the pace on offense. That would seemingly help both defenses, too, which must drill against the up-tempo attacks in practice.
"That helps a lot, because if you can get the feel, or even somewhat of a feel in practice, to a high-offense team, you can transfer that over to the field," Packers defensive tackle Josh Boyd said.
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