Packers-Eagles has wild start, with massive hit and fumble recovery controversy

It didn’t take long for the Philadelphia Eagles’ wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers to give everyone something to talk about.

On the opening kickoff, Eagles linebacker Oren Burks blasted Packers kickoff returner Keisean Nixon with a massive hit that caused a fumble. The Eagles recovered.

That huge hit wasn’t the end of the fireworks. The replay seemed to show that Nixon recovered the ball as the scrum started to pile on top of him. The play was reviewed, as all turnovers are, but to overturn the call of an Eagles recovery there had to be clear evidence that Nixon recovered and held onto it.

“How clear can it be when there’s 12 people laying on top of him?” Fox announcer Tom Brady said.

There wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the call and the Eagles maintained possession.

There was also reason to grumble about the nature of the hit as Burks made helmet-to-helmet contact with Nixon during the tackle.

Philadelphia scored on a Jahan Dotson touchdown shortly after, and just 1:39 into the game the Eagles had a 7-0 lead.

That’s the exact dream scenario for football coaches that talk about setting the tone with physical play, especially in a playoff game. It was also pretty lucky for the Eagles that a review didn’t overturn their recovery.