Jordan Howard's Elevation to Roster Could Signal Run-Heavy Attack in Green Bay

The Eagles’ game plan heading into Green Bay may have been revealed on Saturday with the promotion of Jordan Howard.

The running back who had 115 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the Eagles 34-27 last year at Lambeau Field will make his 2020 season debut for the Eagles, who elevated Howard from the practice squad.

Kickoff for Sunday is set for 4:25 p.m.

The Eagles are 3-7-1 and in danger of dropping out of the NFC East division race against a Packers team that is 8-3 with a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who is having an MVP-caliber season.

It is a difficult slate of games for the NFC East, with the New York Giants (4-7) visiting Seattle (8-3) on Sunday, the Washington Football Team (4-7) playing in Pittsburgh against the undefeated Steelers, and the Dallas Cowboys (3-8) visiting the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) on Tuesday.

Howard was part of an Eagles game plan last year that was run-heavy against the Packers, with 33 rushes for 176 yards. Howard had 15 of those carries for 87 yards.

Until a shoulder injury sidelined him for the final six games, Howard was having a strong season. The Eagles elected not to re-sign him, and he went to Miami. A limited piece of the Dolphins’ offense, Howard still scored four touchdowns until he was released.

He spent the last two weeks on the Eagles’ practice squad.

“He had a really good game (against Green Bay) last year,” said Pederson on Friday, “and it all just comes down to (Friday) and (Saturday) and to see where our numbers fall out.”

The Eagles could look to use him as a complement to Miles Sanders, who has 600 yards rushing in eight games this year and a 5.6 yards per carry average.

Giving Sanders help, though, especially if the offense is once again in a ground-and-pound mode against a Packers defense that is better at stopping the pass than the run, could be in the cards for Philadelphia.

Asked if the Eagles could turn to the run again on Sunday, Pederson said: “I feel like the secondary is good. These two corners are good. And you have to try to run the ball as best you can against these guys.

“Teams have done that and even some of the teams that have beaten them here recently have been able to do that and that's something that we might have to do a little bit more of.

"Last year obviously it was a part of the offense and part of the win up there. But, again, it's a different year, different season and we'll go in and we'll try and see how it plays out.”

The Eagles also promoted defensive tackle Raequan Williams from the practice squad. This will be the second game for the undrafted rookie free agent from Michigan State. Williams played 16 snaps against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 1, which was the last game the Eagles won.

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