The Green Bay Packers know they’re headed to Philadelphia for the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs, pitting a pair of teams with gaudy records against each other in the opening round.

Here are a few things to know about the Eagles, a team the Packers saw in Week 1 of the season in Brazil, a 34-29 loss in which Jordan Love was hurt in the final moments.

• Record: 13-4
• Outcome: Won NFC East
• Best wins: 34-29 vs. Green Bay in Week 1, 26-18 vs. Washington in Week 11, 37-20 at Los Angeles Rams in Week 12, 24-19 at Baltimore in Week 13, 27-13 vs. Pittsburgh in Week 15
• Puzzling loss: 22-21 vs. Atlanta in Week 2
• Previous playoff clashes with Packers: Packers win after 2010 season in wild-card round, 21-16, en route to Super Bowl title; Eagles win after 2003 season in divisional round, 20-17 (OT) in infamous “fourth and 26” game; Eagles win after 1960 season in NFL Championship Game, 17-13, the only NFL title game coach Vince Lombardi ever lost.

Saquon Barkley: One of the biggest stories in the NFL in 2024

The NFL Most Valuable Player award hasn’t gone to a non-quarterback since Adrian Peterson of Minnesota won in 2012 and, though Eagles running back Saquon Barkley isn’t the odds-on favorite to win in 2024, he’s going to at least get votes.

Barkley racked up 2,005 rushing yards this year, just 101 shy of the single-season rushing record that’s belonged to Eric Dickerson since 1984. And, if Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had elected to play his starters in Week 17, the mark may very well belong to Barkley.

Barkley famously changed teams this offseason when the New York Giants chose not to bring back the popular running back, and he delivered a landmark year for a division rival. It was a magnificent missing ingredient for Philadelphia, which was a bottom-third rushing team in the NFL last year, when the Eagles famously lost five of their last six games and then quickly lost in the playoffs.

This year, the Eagles lead the league in rushing, enabling them to remain elite on offense even as the passing offense has dipped to a bottom-third unit in terms of production. The offensive line may have lost center Jason Kelce to retirement, but it still has three Pro Bowlers this year — new center Cam Jurgens, tackle Lane Johnson and guard Landon Dickerson.

The passing game has some question marks, but this will still be a major test for Green Bay’s outside corners

The drop in passing yardage per game doesn’t necessarily mean a downgrade. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a career-best completion percentage this year, a career-best-tying yards per attempt and threw only five interceptions to 18 touchdowns.

Hurts, however, missed the final two games of the season after getting a concussion, and he was in the concussion protocol while ramping up to Week 18, even though the Eagles weren’t likely to suit him up for the final game. His replacement, Kenny Pickett, had a big day as the Eagles rampaged past Dallas in Week 16, and it sounds likely Hurts will be available in the playoffs.

The vast majority of the receiving yards are chewed up by star wideouts A.J. Brown (1,079 yards, seven touchdowns) and DeVonta Smith (833 yards, eight touchdowns), accounting for 15 of the team’s 22 passing touchdowns this season. Going into Week 18, Pro Football Focus said Brown has zero drops this season, and Smith has just four. By comparison, Packers receivers Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks have combined for 18.

If the Packers could mitigate those two, there’s an opportunity; the Eagles almost never throw over the middle. According to NextGen Stats, Hurts hasn’t completed a middle-of-the-field pass over 18 yards this season. But the two top receivers are such serious threats that the Packers will be stressed on the outside, an area where they’re lacking injured All-Pro Jaire Alexander.

Wisconsin native Zack Baun is a great story — and a problem for the Packers

Brown Deer High School and University of Wisconsin alumnus Zack Baun has had an amazing 2024 season, earning a first career Pro Bowl spot after signing a one-year contract with the Eagles in the offseason. His first four NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints were largely spent contributing on special teams, but the Eagles use him at inside linebacker on 95% of defensive snaps.

According to Pro Football Focus, going into the final week of the season, he rated as the No. 1 linebacker in coverage in the NFL, in the same tier of excellence as four-time San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowler Fred Warner. Baun become the first player in NFL history with 150 tackles (he has 151) and five forced fumbles. He also has four passes defended and 3½ sacks.

The Eagles have an argument as the best defense in football

The Eagles headed into Week 18 allowing the third-fewest points in the league and the fewest yards (particularly effective against the pass), and they were second in the league in points allowed at home (behind only the Packers). They have standouts at all three levels; defensive tackle Jalen Carter is a Pro Bowler, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell is in the conversation for defensive rookie of the year, outside linebacker Josh Sweat will be a highly coveted pass-rush option in the offseason free-agent class, plus Baun and veteran cornerback Darius Slay.

The first game of the season is usually a bad comparison tool, particularly when it’s played in an unusual location like Brazil, but the Packers were able to generate some yards (414) and were nonetheless sabotaged by three turnovers, not to mention 10 penalties and a 3-for-11 conversion rate on third down.

The Rams have only allowed that many yards in four other games this season, and none since Nov. 24. In December games, Philadelphia permitted just 331.8 yards per game and 18.2 points. That includes four of five opponents held to fewer than 20 points.

Cooper DeJean has enjoyed an excellent rookie season

It wasn’t hard to see the fit between the Packers and University of Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean in advance of the 2024 draft. Many pundits slotted DeJean to the Packers in mock drafts, but Green Bay selected Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan instead.

DeJean, who went to Philadelphia in the early second round, has delivered. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s the eighth-best cover corner in the NFL among players with at least 200 coverage snaps — Alexander is ninth. DeJean had 416 such snaps going into Week 18, and though he doesn’t have any interceptions this year, he does have six passes defended, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. DeJean barely saw the field on defensive snaps in the first four games of the year but was pressed into considerable duty thereafter.

The Packers find themselves in a spot where they might need to do what Philadelphia did and address the secondary in the draft. First-round pick Mitchell and DeJean have been rock-solid additions.

The Eagles have struggled in the red zone, at least as much as the Packers have

The Packers have caused their fans some heartburn with their red-zone efficiency, a success mark of 60.6% (in which they scored touchdowns during red-zone trips). The Eagles are actually a touch worse in that department, at 57.8%. The “Tush Push” the Philadelphia seemed to shepherd into broader consciousness is still plenty effective, though perhaps not quite as much now that Kelce is retired.

Philadelphia essentially got a week off in Week 18

The Eagles didn’t get the first-round bye, but they functionally got one of the same perks with a week off. The inactives in Week 18 against the Giants included Hurts, both big-time receivers (Smith and Brown), Barkley, Baun, Slay, three starting offensive lineman, linebacker Nakobe Dean and Carter. Essentially, every Eagles star got a breather and will have a full two weeks of rest heading into the game with Green Bay. Philly won the game against New York anyway, 20-13.