The Green Bay Packers will visit the Philadelphia Eagles in the rematch of Week 1 when the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in São Paulo, Brazil. While the Eagles are coming into the playoffs after a win in the season finale, the Packers lost their Week 18 clash against the Chicago Bears.
Despite consisting of the No. 7 and No. 2 seeds, Sunday’s Wild Card Weekend clash has all the makings of a heavyweight fight. Let’s examine the voices you can expect to hear during the Packers vs. Eagles game.
Announcers for Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Lead Play-by-Play Announcer: Kevin Burkhardt
- Color Analyst: Tom Brady
- Sideline Reporter: Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi
On Sunday, Kevin Burkhardt will be the lead play-by-play announcer for the second Wild Card Round matchup. Burkhardt has become one of the headliners of NFL broadcasting as the top play-by-play announcer for Fox.
After graduating from William Patterson University, he worked for several local stations in New Jersey. His first eight years were spent with WGHT, where his roles included covering high school football.
Burkhardt also worked for Jukebox Radio, where he had the opportunity to broadcast New Jersey Jackals minor league baseball games for the network. In 2007, he made the switch to baseball as the New York Mets field reporter at SportsNet New York (SNY).
Alongside working at SNY, Burkhardt called NFL games nationally for Compass Media. He called the Dallas Cowboys games for the network before joining Fox Sports as an NFL play-by-play announcer in 2013.
In addition to Burkhardt’s NFL and MLB work, he is also a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports’ college basketball coverage.
Brady will join Burkhardt as the color analyst for this high-octane NFC game. The seven-time Super Bowl champion made a triumphant return to the football world by taking on the role of broadcaster earlier this season. The former quarterback is being paid handsomely to do so after signing a $375 million deal for 10 years with Fox.
Andrews has been with FOX since 2012 after eight years at ESPN. At Fox, she has been part of the broadcast team for four Super Bowls and multiple World Series and MLB All-Star games.
Rinaldi joined FOX in 2021 after almost two decades at ESPN. He has won 16 Sports Emmy Awards and seven Edward R. Murrow Awards in his career, as he has covered most of the biggest events in sports. Rinaldi has covered the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the Olympics, the Daytona 500, the Masters, Wimbledon, and the College Football National Championship.
Packers vs. Eagles Game Preview
- Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: Fox/Fox Deportes
Jordan Love isn’t afraid to take chances. While that creates some downside, his style of play has paid off more often than not up to this point in the season.
The issue is now it must pay off against elite competition, all while Love battles a right elbow injury that caused him to miss much of the team’s Week 18 loss to the Bears. Love has averaged -0.06 EPA per dropback in five games against the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and Eagles this season. Against all other teams, he’s averaged 0.21 EPA per dropback.
Saquon Barkley has opened up offensive versatility that simply didn’t exist last season. The ninth 2,000-yard rusher in NFL history led the top-ranked offense by EPA per rush (0.08) excluding Week 18 (when Philadelphia benched nearly all of its starters).
The Eagles can produce against anyone, but if the offensive line remains a liability when it comes to pass blocking, Philly could be in a precarious spot if it falls behind.
The Eagles are the worst team at preventing pressure when not blitzed, a flaw that could undo all the good it’s capable of doing. That said, with playmakers at every level, counting this offense out isn’t a wise move as long as Jalen Hurts recovers from his concussion before the Wild Card Round.
The play of the Packers’ offensive line has been fairly inconsistent since its bye week, but they rank ninth in the league over the past four weeks. The overall numbers do not appear to be anything to worry about, and a strong showing up front against the Lions in Week 14 is a strong reason for optimism in the playoffs.
This week, they face a Philadelphia team that they graded as a B- against last time out. However, that was back in Week 1, so both teams have changed significantly. The Eagles’ OL has also been all over the map in recent weeks. They rank 27th over the final four weeks with D+ grades against the Commanders and Steelers.
There isn’t a statistical flaw in Philadelphia’s defense, which ranks top 10 in every metric that encompasses our Defense+ grades (except for sack rate, where they’re 15th). That makes them an incredibly dangerous threat to win the NFC, even without the top seed.
Five of the Packers’ six losses came against the Eagles, Vikings, and Lions, which bodes ominously for a playoff run that starts in Philadelphia. The offensive injuries were the bigger concern coming out of Week 18. For the Packers to make a run in the playoffs, they’ll need this unit’s variance to swing in the right direction.
