Two Days to Kickoff: 2 Packers-Eagles X-Factors
GREEN BAY, Wis. – You know the big names for Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field. For the Green Bay Packers, it’s Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones, among others. For the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s quarterback Carson Wentz, running back Miles Sanders and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
Looking beyond the obvious, here are two potential X-factors – one for each team.
Green Bay: LG Jon Runyan
Rookie offensive lineman Jon Runyan figures to make his first NFL start against the Eagles. In what seems like the premise of a cheesy Hollywood script, his first start will come against the team for which his dad started for nine seasons.
“Growing up, it’s a team that I always watched ever since I was like 3 years old and pretty much all the way up until last year,” Runyan said this week. “Philadelphia fans are just a little bit different about their fandom. It’s kind of hard to describe. I was really in awe of that. It was really fun watching them throughout the years. Now, I’m over here and now I’ve got to handle my business. Evrybody knows where my allegiance stands. It’s going to be awesome to go out there. It’s just like every other game but it’s a little extra special I’m playing against a team I grew up watching.”
Runyan was an all-Big Ten left tackle at Michigan in 2018 and 2019. Moving college left tackles to the interior positions isn’t anything new. The Packers, like many teams, have been doing that for years. Doing it without offseason practices to help ease the transition upped the level of difficulty.
“Very challenging and that was kind of the biggest thing, baby steps with him, just getting him used to playing guard as opposed to tackle,” offensive line coach Adam Stenavich said this week. “And then as he went along and you saw he could handle the more, he could handle the mental side of it, then he could work into playing center and stuff like that. It was really hard and really weird, especially with this offseason, to kind of grasp where these guys were and then, once you got to work with them a little bit, you could kind of see, ‘OK, this guy, he’s got a good handle on things.’ Then you could kind of hone in on specific things he needs to improve on.”
Runyan overcame the challenges to become a critical contributor. Runyan will have a tough matchup. While Cox is iffy for this week, it’s Javon Hargrave who typically lines up against the offensive left guard. Hargrave is a strong run defender and is third on the team in pressures.
Runyan has been thrown into the fire and survived, starting with Week 1 at Minnesota and then three of the past four weeks against San Francisco, Indianapolis and Chicago.
“I wouldn’t say I came here thinking I belonged right away,” he said. “Coming into this strange offseason that we had, that made everybody uneasy. I took it in stride. I knew that I had this fall camp to put myself in the best position possible to make this roster. That meant coming in every day and making sure I’m getting my work done in the right way and, hopefully, by the end of it, it will pay off, and I think it did. I’m starting to feel comfortable here in Green Bay and having a fun time doing it.”
Philadelphia: LB Alex Singleton
Singleton got a shoutout from Rodgers on Wednesday.
“They’ve got my buddy Alex, my workout buddy, playing. Excited for him. He’s a super guy, really happy that he’s gotten an opportunity to play, he’s been playing really well,” Rodgers said.
Singleton went undrafted in 2015 out of Montana State. He spent three years in the CFL and emerged as a star for Calgary. After the 2018 CFL season, he signed with the Eagles. A top special-teams performer last year, he’s become a top defensive performer this year. He’s tied for the team lead with 59 tackles, even though he’s only started the last six games. He’s had games of 15 and 11 tackles and played every snap the last three games.
“I don’t think a lot of people know his journey and know just kind of the path he took to get here,” former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker T.J. Edwards said this week. “So, it’s really you have nothing but respect, and nothing but joy for what he’s doing. He’s up in the competitions in the room and up in the tempo.
“I think him just going out there and flying around and making plays is something we’re all trying to do. As of late you just see him flying around making plays and he’s doing a great job. And that guy deserves 100 percent everything that’s he’s gotten up to this point. He’s a big part of our defense.”
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