The X-factors that will decide Packers vs. Eagles

Sunday's playoff tilt between the Packers and Eagles will hinge on several factors.

This Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will enter Lincoln Financial Field as underdogs. Their quarterback will play through an injury to his right elbow. Their top deep threat will spend the game in street clothes. Their top cornerback will miss his 11th game of the season.

Still, while many have already discounted the Packers' chances of advancing to the next round of the playoffs, football games rarely unfold exactly as expected. This particular matchup will hinge on several factors, not all of which fall under the control of the two teams involved.

Jalen Hurts' readiness

Officially, Jalen Hurts' status for Sunday's game remains up in the air. The quarterback suffered a concussion in Week 16 and missed the Eagles' final two regular-season games. He didn't make his return to practice until earlier this week and didn't notch more than limited participation until Thursday.

However, Hurts seems well on his way to clearing the protocol. Unless concussion symptoms return before game time, both teams expect to see him in uniform this weekend. The Eagles even released backup signal-caller Ian Book on Wednesday, a strong signal of their expectations for Hurts given their other QB, Kenny Pickett, has a rib injury.

"We're going to anticipate Jalen is going to play," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday. "If he can't, then we'll be ready for that as well."

Still, just because Hurts appears likely to return doesn't mean he'll immediately perform as he did before his concussion. Not only did he miss all football activities over the Eagles' final two weeks of the regular season, but he barely played Week 16. Hurts went down just over five minutes into the game. In that sense, he hasn't played anywhere close to a full game since Dec. 15, almost a month before Sunday's matchup with Green Bay.

Hurts complications don't end there either. While he has practiced the past two days, his No. 1 receiver largely hasn't. A.J. Brown left Wednesday's practice early due to what the team designated as "knee/rest" on the official injury report and did not participate at all on Thursday. While Brown should suit up on Sunday, he will have spent extremely little time working with Hurts in any capacity since the middle of December.

And while Hurts should have full clearance before kickoff, the Eagles will undoubtedly take a more careful approach with him given the nature of his injury. That caution could take numerous forms, possibly including not running the infamous "tush push" with him, fewer designed QB runs, and limited deep drops. Any of those changes would create meaningful limitations for the offense.

Hurts could still play at a high level, of course. Some of his best games have come in the postseason such as his stellar performance in Super Bowl LVII. But expecting any quarterback to miss as much time as Hurts and immediately return to form represents a big ask.

Coverage plan for Eagles' passing game