Why Eagles should be encouraged by Sunday's ugly playoff win

If you took a stroll down Broad Street on Monday morning, you probably spotted dozens of Philadelphians walking with their heads down. Fans weren't impressed with the Philadelphia Eagles' 22-10 wild-card win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but that's the wrong way to look at this performance.

Sure, the offense could've been much better. Jalen Hurts threw for only 39 yards in the first half, A.J. Brown finished with just one catch for 10 yards and the offense went 2-for-11 on third down. Despite the ugly box score, the Eagles still scored 22 points against the sixth-ranked scoring defense in the NFL. It marked the 11th straight game in which Philadelphia has scored at least 22 points with Hurts at QB. 

Media pundits probably will bash Hurts this week for his uninspiring performance, but he doesn't deserve the criticism. The 26-year-old did exactly what he needed to do in guiding the Eagles to a playoff win. Hurts threw for two touchdowns, gained yards to avoid sacks, made key gains on early downs and didn't turn the ball over. 

This was Hurts' first game action since Dec. 22, when he suffered a concussion against the Washington Commanders. He had 20 days of rust to knock off, so he played conservatively and focused on protecting the football. Hurts has done a brilliant job of that since the first few weeks of the season, as he's thrown only one interception in his past 13 games. 

That's going to be the key to Philadelphia's playoff run. This team is built on defense and the running game, both of which showed up against the Packers. Philadelphia forced four turnovers and surrendered only 10 points, marking the 12th time in the past 14 games it has allowed 20 or fewer points. As for the running game, Saquon Barkley and Hurts combined for 155 yards.