Coming off an impressive performance on Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) will look to earn their third consecutive win on Sunday, as they travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers (6-3), who are coming off an impressive primetime showing of their own.
One matchup with potential to influence the outcome of the game will be former Vanderbilt WR Jordan Matthews lining up across from former Vanderbilt CB Casey Hayward.
With the emergence of Mark Sanchez and a career day in which Matthews hauled in seven receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns, Matthews earned a Wide Receiver Rating of 158.3, tied for first among all wide receivers last week. Sanchez seemed to favor Matthews, targeting him a team-high nine times, all of which came when Matthews was lined up in the slot.
In fact, having earned a Slot Route Percentage of 91.6%, Matthews has operated out of the slot for most of the season. That ranks third among 56 wide receivers that have run a minimum of 101 routes, only Wes Welker and Cole Beasley have higher percentages. Furthermore, Matthews’ has 39 receptions on 56 targets this year. Of those 39 receptions, Matthews has reeled in 37 from the slot, on 54 targets. Only Randall Cobb has more targets, receptions, and touchdowns out of the slot this season.
Having taken the most snaps in the slot of any Packers’ cornerback this season, Hayward may draw Sunday’s matchup against Matthews. With a coverage grade of +5.6, Hayward has earned the highest coverage grade for the Packers this season and ranks 13th among all cornerbacks.
Just as Matthews has performed well out of the slot this season, Hayward has thrived himself. Having taken 112 snaps in slot coverage, Hayward has only been targeted 10 times, tied for third out of 55 cornerbacks who have spent a minimum of 65 snaps in coverage. When targeted, he has held opposing quarterbacks to a rating of 22.5, second-best among all cornerbacks in slot coverage.
Furthermore, of those same 55 qualifying cornerbacks, Hayward ranks first in both coverage snaps per target (11.2) and coverage snaps per reception (22.4), while also ranking second in yards allowed per coverage snap (0.39).
This matchup should make for an interesting one.
Here are three more notable numbers for each side:
Philadelphia Eagles
Mark Sanchez – Sanchez had an Accuracy Percentage of 60.0% when throwing the deep ball (20+ yards) in Week 10, tied for fourth-best among QBs.
Jeremy Maclin – Maclin’s pass grade of +8.2 ranks seventh among all wide receivers.
Malcolm Jenkins – Jenkins has proven to be a nice addition to Philadelphia’s secondary, as his overall grade of +9.0 is tied for fourth-best among all safeties.
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers – Rodgers’ overall Accuracy Percentage of 78.2 ranks third among 36 qualifying quarterbacks.
Josh Sitton – With a Pass Blocking Efficiency (PBE) of 98.8, Sitton ranks third among 76 guards who have played a minimum of 108 passing plays.
Randall Cobb – Among 82 wide receivers, Cobb ranks first with a Wide Receiver Rating of 147.9.
Recently at PFF
ReFo: Panthers @ Eagles, Week 10
ReFo: Bears @ Packers, Week 10
All-Star Team of the Week: Week 10
32 Observations, Week 10
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.