3 Philadelphia Eagles who have to be better for rest of playoffs to win the Super Bowl

The Philadelphia Eagles ousted the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Round, 22-10, on the strength of Vic Fangio's shutdown defense. Jordan Love tossed three interceptions as an explosive Packers offense was stifled at every turn.

This was an undeniably impressive win, but the Eagles are hungry for more than a trip to the divisional round. Nick Sirianni is aiming for his second Super Bowl appearance — and ideally, his first victory. The Eagles are plenty talented enough, but there are screws to tighten and holes to cover up between now and next weekend. These Eagles are far from invincible.

Philadelphia's stout defense propped up a rather unimpressive offense on Sunday. Aside from a first-quarter touchdown pass when the Eagles were gift-wrapped a possession deep in Packers territory, Jalen Hurts and company struggled to move the football. Kellen Moore has brought new life to the Eagles' offense this season, but we have seen Sirianni teams hit a wall on this stage before. There is reason for trepedation moving forward.

With their second round matchup TBD — either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, or Minnesota Vikings — the Eagles will need these players to perform better, regardless of who lines up on the other side next week.

3. Jake Elliott needs to be more dependable for the Eagles

The Eagles went up 16-3 with a touchdown midway through the third quarter. It was an impressive 24-yard catch and run from Dallas Goedert, who stiff-armed a Green Bay defender into a new dimension on his way to pay dirt. All momentum swung in Philadelphia's direction — until Jake Elliott missed the PAT.

That kept the lead at 13 points. When Green Bay scored a quick touchdown in response on the next possession, Philly's lead dwindled to just six. It felt quite possible that Elliott's whiff might leave the door open for a Packers comeback in the final quarter.

That did not prove to be the case, as Elliott drilled two short field goals in the final frame to seal the Eagles' victory. He is now 32-for-32 on postseason field goal attempts in his career, but the tides have turned on Elliott this season. He went 28-for-36 in the regular season and his range appears to be shrinking. He's less trustworthy in big moments — especially on long-range attempts.

This will be a noteworthy trend to monitor if the Eagles end up in a close back-and-forth affair next week.

2. A.J. Brown needs to produce more than 10 yards for the Eagles' offense

A.J. Brown is among the very best wide receivers in football. He put together an incredible regular season for the Eagles, netting 67 receptions for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns across 13 appearances.

That said, the passing attack (or lack thereof) has been a common point of friction in an otherwise smooth Eagles season. Brown famously called out the offensive game plan in early December after a quiet 43-yard performance against Carolina. He followed that up with eight catches and 110 yards a few days later, which put those qualms to bed, but Brown — and his limited involvement — are back in the news after Sunday's win.

Brown caught one of three targets for 10 yards in the Eagles' Wild Card victory. He was essentially uninvolved in the offense. This is not necessarily Brown's fault. It's on Kellen Moore, Nick Sirianni, and Jalen Hurts to feed their Pro Bowl wideout more regularly. That said, the Eagles probably can't survive another no-show from the talented 27-year-old. Philadelphia has a dominant run game and a stout defense, but if the football isn't moving through the air, other teams are better equipped than Green Bay to take advantage.

The optics of Brown's quiet afternoon weren't great. He was seen reading a book on the sideline mid-game with a dejected look on his face. Brown said all the right things with the media postgame, but we know he takes these things personally. Philadelphia has to get Brown going early and often next week, point blank.

1. Jalen Hurts needs to operate more aggressively moving forward

Jalen Hurts is enjoying the most efficient stretch of his career for the Eagles. He hasn't thrown an interception is almost two months. That said, there's a fine line between ball security and playing scared. The Eagles need Hurts to more push the football more aggressively up the field, even if it means taking a few more risks.

Hurts finished Sunday's game with 131 passing yards and a couple touchdowns, completing just 13-of-21 passes. We can pin some of the blame on Philadelphia's play-callers, but this really falls on Hurts. He can't take a backseat in the playoffs. It's easy to lean on Saquon Barkley (and hope the defense yields so few points), but eventually, the Eagles will need to keep pace with a more spritely offense. Is Hurts up for it?

We've seen some genuinely show-stopping performances from Hurts on the postseason stage before. He tends to elevate his game when the lights are brightest. Sunday was not an example of that phenomenon, though, and Hurts has been too prone to these muted outings all season. The Eagles tend to win games on the strength of the collective, but superstar QB play is often the difference between an early exit and a deep run in the NFL Playoffs. The Eagles need Hurts to let loose and put some numbers on the board.

If he puts up a comparable final stat line next week, we might be talking about what awaits Philadelphia in the offseason.