Saquon Barkley may not want to leave the Southern Hemisphere after Friday night. The Green Bay Packers can’t get home soon enough.
Making his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles in the first NFL game ever played in Brazil – or south of the equator – Barkley stole the show in his new team’s regular-season opener, racking up 132 yards from scrimmage and matching his career-high with three TDs in a 34-29 victory over the Pack.
But the defeat could be the least of the team’s worries, its franchise quarterback, Jordan Love, suffering an apparent lower-body injury with 6 seconds left on the game’s final drive before he was helped off the field with a heavy limp. Newly acquired backup Malik Willis took the final two snaps and was unable to move the team. Eagles linebacker Zack Baun sacked Willis at midfield on the last play of the game as time expired.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur had no update or details on Love's status during his postgame press conference.
Barkley caught an 18-yard scoring pass from Jalen Hurts in the second quarter and followed up with a pair of TDs on the ground. But the Eagles almost put the game on ice with a 16-play, 67-yard march on their final possession, the drive ending with a field goal but not before eating up half of the fourth-quarter clock.
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Packers receiver Jayden Reed matched Barkley early on, both players reaching the end zone via air and land in the second quarter. Reed finished with 171 yards from scrimmage on five touches.
But the Green Bay defense, in its first game with new coordinator Jeff Hafley, struggled to get off the field most of the night. Offensively, the Packers came away with one touchdown in four trips to the red zone, LaFleur saying they were "destroyed" there in a game he described as a "slop fest." And rookie kicker Brayden Narveson’s missed field goal at the end of the third quarter certainly didn’t help. Those mistakes essentially offset Hurts’ three turnovers – a pair of picks and a fumble charged to him even though new starting center Cam Jurgens was responsible for a bad snap on the play in question.
Playoff teams a year ago, the Packers and Eagles both look more than capable of returning in 2024 – if Love’s injury doesn’t prove serious. Otherwise, each club has plenty to clean up but time to do so, Philadelphia with a 10-day break until its next contest – a home date with the Atlanta Falcons on “Monday Night Football” in Week 2.
The Packers will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 15.
Here's a look back at the major moments from the game:
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles milked the clock all the way down to 27 seconds in the fourth quarter during a field goal drive that chewed up seven minutes and 25 seconds on the game clock.
The Eagles drove the football all the way to Green Bay’s one-yard line. But on third-and-goal from the one, Hurts fumbled the direct snap and nearly lost the football. Luckily for the Eagles, Saquon Barkley recovered the loose football to preserve a 21-yard field goal for the Eagles.
The Eagles have a 34-29 lead with 27 seconds left.
Saquon Barkley tallied over 127 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. His three scrimmage TDs are tied for the most by any player in a team debut in the Super Bowl era.
In a game that's clearly resembling an NFC heavyweight bout, the Green Bay Packers have been wobbling, but they return to their corner for a needed blow with another field goal in hand.
After rookie Brayden Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter, he redeemed himself with a 26-yarder midway through the fourth, cutting Philadelphia's lead to 31-29. In between, CB Jaire Alexander's end zone interception staved off what could have been a knockout blow from the Eagles.
Green Bay's subsequent drive covered 79 yards over 10 plays, RB Josh Jacobs' 32-yard run and WR Jayden's Reed 26-yard reception doing most of the damage. Jacobs has rushed for 76 yards since halftime after producing just 4 before the break.
Jalen Hurts is being very charitable with the football in Brazil.
After two turnovers in the first half, Hurts forced a pass into the end zone that was picked off by Packers CB Jaire Alexander.
The interception gave Hurts three turnovers in the game (two interceptions and one fumble). But the fourth-quarter interception might’ve been his worst one yet. The ill-advised pass cost Philadelphia crucial points. The Eagles were in the red zone and could’ve settled for a short field goal which would’ve given them a 34-26 advantage.
As Saquon Barkley continues to tear through the Green Bay Packers defense during his debut with Philadelphia tonight, it's hard not to flash to the offseason version of HBO's "Hard Knocks," which featured Barkley's original team, the New York Giants. As the team weighed whether or not to re-sign their best player during free agency or spread the money around to sign several veterans to a weakened roster, there's no forgetting what team owner John Mara told GM Schoen as free agency was commencing.
"I'll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that," Mara said in Schoen's office. "As I've told you, just being around enough players, he's the most popular player we have, by far."
Might want to pour yourself a strong one before you hit the hay tonight, Mr. Mara. Feels like the G-Men are already 0-1. At least.
The Eagles defense got their first takeaway of the night.
Packers QB Jordan Love threw off his back foot and lofted an errant pass to TE Luke Musgrave. Eagles safety Reed Blankenship came darting in and made an impressive diving catch for the interception.
Blankenship was ruled down on the Packers’ 25-yard line.
It took the Eagles just four plays to score a touchdown off the turnover.
The Eagles dialed up three runs for running back Saquon Barkley. The third run resulted in a 2-yard touchdown that lifted the Eagles to a 31-26 lead with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter.
Barkley is just the second Eagles player ever with three touchdowns in a debut. It’s the second touchdown hat trick of Barkley’s career. The running back has five touchdowns in his last two regular-season games dating back to his time with the Giants.
And the scoring salvos in the Southern Hemisphere just keep coming ... though Green Bay had plenty of help from the Birds on its latest TD drive.
QB Jordan Love's 2-yard TD pass to WR Christian Watson allowed the Packers to reclaim a 26-24 third-quarter advantage. However Green Bay's six-play, 70-yard drive was extended twice when the Eagles committed costly penalties on third down. The first came when LB Zach Baun was flagged for roughing Love, though the hit hardly looked egregious, giving the Packers a first down at the Eagles' 46-yard line (Philadelphia was also called for pass interference on the same play, but that was declined).
Next, Love hit TE Tucker Kraft for a 29-yard gain, and then an Avonte Maddox DPI penalty three plays later set up the Love-to-Watson strike.
The Eagles are off to a flying start in the second half.
Jalen Hurts found A.J. Brown deep for a 67-yard touchdown just two plays into the third quarter as Philadelphia reclaimed the lead at 24-19.
The series took just 51 seconds off the third-quarter clock. The 64-yard score is Philadelphia’s longest play of the night.
Brown has a game-high four catches, 108 receiving yards and a TD.
The Packers have a 19-17 advantage at halftime.
Jake Elliott connected on a 38-field goal to end the first half to cut Philly’s deficit.
The Eagles are fortunate to just be down 2 points after two first-half turnovers.
The first half featured a couple explosive plays by Green Bay, including 70-yard touchdown reception by WR Jayden Reed. However, the Packers are 2-6 on third downs and 0-2 in the red zone.
Reed and Eagles star Saquon Barkley each have two first-half touchdowns for their respective clubs.
Reed currently has a game-high 79 receiving yards. Barkley has posted 54 yards from scrimmage.
Jordan Love has 130 passing yards and a touchdown.
Jalen Hurts passed for 154 yards but has a fumble and an interception in the first half.
In a game that's quickly devolving into a mano-a-mano battle between Eagles RB Saquon Barkley and Packers WR Jayden Reed, the latter answered a Barkley TD with one of his own for the second time Friday night, his 70-yard catch-and-run putting Green Bay back on top 19-14.
Crossing over the deep middle of the field, Reed gathered in a pass from QB Jordan Love, who had plenty of time to move up in the pocket before setting up to throw, and easily outran DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was juked to the turf, over the final 40 yards to reach the end zone.
Reed now has 112 yards and two TDs from scrimmage on three touches tonight.
Running back Saquon Barkley slipped on his very first carry as a Philadelphia Eagle, but he’s quickly made amends.
Barkley’s reached pay dirt on back-to-back possessions.
The Eagles running back capped off a nine-play, 70-yard drive when he took a handoff and ran up the middle for an 11-yard score.
Philadelphia has 14-12 lead with 5:34 left in the first half.
Barkley has produced 49 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in his first half as an Eagle.
The Packers star is entering his fifth NFL season, if only his second as Green Bay's starting quarterback. Last season, his first as QB1, he did something predecessors Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers couldn't during their debuts as starters: Take the Pack to the playoffs.
So what does Love do for an encore?
Both Favre and Rodgers did reach postseason in their second years as QB1 but couldn't get as far as the Super Bowl, Rodgers winning the Lombardi Trophy in Year 3, while Favre needed until Year 5. Could Love eclipse them both? Perhaps the league's hottest quarterback in the second half of the 2023 season, he nearly orchestrated an upset of the 49ers on the road in the divisional round – and USA TODAY Sports' NFL experts seem to think he'll achieve even more in 2024. Spoiler alert, our expectations approach outlandish collectively.
Amazing what you can do when you keep your feet.
On a night when players on both teams are clearly struggling with their footing at slippery Corinthians Arena, Packers WR Jayden Reed had no issues amid a 33-yard sprint for a go-ahead TD with 10:16 left in the second quarter. Reed took an end-around handoff from QB Jordan Love and sliced through the Philly D to cap a five-play, 70-yard drive. After a penalty on the Eagles, the Packers opted for a two-point conversion attempt, but RB Josh Jacobs came up short, limiting their lead to 12-7. Reed and RB2 Emanuel Wilson have combined for 70 yards on four carries, while Jacobs – Green Bay's top offseason free agent signing – has 4 yards on six attempts so far.
The Eagles shook off a shaky start.
Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley led Philadelphia on an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to give the team a 7-6 lead with 12:38 remaining in the second quarter.
Barkley, who was the prize acquisition by the Eagles over the offseason, had an 11-yard run up the middle to put Philadelphia on Green Bay’s 28-yard line. Two plays later, Hurts hit Barkley in stride on a wheel route for an 18-yard touchdown.
The touchdown represented Barkley’s first as an Eagle and matched the number of running back TD receptions new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had all of last year with the Chargers.
You're looking at some very expensive arms tonight.
During the offseason, Packers QB Jordan Love signed a four-year, $220 million extension – his average annual salary ($55 million) tied with the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow and Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence for the highest in league history. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was enriched a year ago, his five-year pact averaging $51 million.
In terms of AAV, it's the third-most expensive QB matchup in league history, trailing only Burrow's two showdowns with reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson ($52 million AAV) in 2023.
The Packers’ red zone offense is failing them early.
Green Bay had to settle for a field goal after another Eagles turnover.
The Packers took over possession of the football on Philadelphia’s 13-yard line and went backwards. Green Bay was called for two penalties in eight plays and had to settle for a short 23-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson.
The Packers started their last two possessions inside the red zone but a lack of execution and penalties cost them each time.
Green Bay is currently 0-2 in the red zone and 1-5 on third downs.
Two drives, two turnovers for the Eagles.
This time C Cam Jurgens, the replacement for retired star Jason Kelce, snapped the ball before QB Jalen Hurts was ready for it. The mistake was magnified by the fact Philadelphia was pinned deep in its own territory after Packers K Brayden Narveson used the new dynamic kickoff rules to nicely drop one into the landing zone and forcing the Eagles to begin the drive on their own 16-yard line. When Hurts couldn't corral Jurgens' misfire, Pack DL Devonte Wyatt recovered on the 13.
Saquon Barkley slipped on the very first offensive play of the Eagles’ season – and Philadelphia's first series was all downhill from there.
On second-and-10, Jalen Hurts tossed an incomplete pass intended for WR A.J. Brown. On the ensuing play, Hurts threw an errant pass to wideout DeVonta Smith that was picked off by Packers safety Xavier McKinney and returned to Philly’s 19-yard line.
McKinney was a big offseason free-agent pickup by Green Bay.
The Packers weren’t able to capitalize despite the good field possession. Green Bay was called for an offensive holding penalty on second down and couldn’t convert on third down.
Green Bay settled for a 31-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
The Eagles have become closely affiliated with the University of Georgia in recent years, selecting Bulldogs defenders Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Kelee Ringo and Nolan Smith Jr. – all since the 2022 NFL draft.
But the Packers also have a high UGA quotient – all exclusively on the defensive side as well. S Javon Bullard, CB Eric Stokes, LB Quay Walker and DL Devonte Wyatt all played between the hedges, too, all but Bullard first-rounders take since 2021.
The Eagles have the most season-opening victories in the NFL since 2011, winning 11 of their last 13 Week 1 contests.
Philadelphia won its first five games last season but lost six of seven (including a wild-card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) to close the year.
Given Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere, it's still technically winter, spring flowers set to bloom later this month. But the conditions at kickoff tonight should be mild: cloudy, approximately 70 degrees with light winds and little chance of rain, though it is quite humid.
The verdant color has long been associated with Philadelphia's color palette. But the Eagles, technically the home team tonight in Brazil, opted for a new uniform combination that includes black helmets and pants and a white jersey ... rather than the Midnight Green and Kelly Green long associated with the franchise, only their jersey numbers and some trim adorned in green tonight.
Why?
The Brazilian soccer club that's the primary tenant of the stadium, Corinthians, disapproves of green as it's the primary color of the archrival team, Palmeiras. So the Eagles opt for black while their opponent, the Packers, are forced to wear their home green jerseys, villainous in these parts.
The Packers' running back could be worth watching, as Green Bay could be thin in the backfield behind starter RB Josh Jacobs. Lloyd, the third-round pick out of USC, was set to be the primary backup after AJ Dillon was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a stinger. Now, the Packers might have to rely on Emanuel Wilson, a second-year back who tallied 85 yards on 14 carries last year as a rookie undrafted free agent.
SÃO PAULO, Brazil – The Eagles held a press conference for Brazilian media members Thursday, featuring some of their key players like quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. But it was Eagles' third-string quarterback Tanner McKee, who has never played a down in an NFL game, who stole the proverbial show.
McKee was already well known in Brazil because he spent nearly two years in the South American country, from 2018-20, on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints. He became fluent in Portuguese during that time. And it made the media's day when McKee took a question in Portuguese from a reporter, then answered in Portuguese, then translated it into English, even though the NFL had supplied a translator.
This is how the exchange went after the question came in: McKee said to the crowd of about 50 media members: "You want me to do it in Portuguese?"
Read more from The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal's Martin Frank
Friday night's contest will be staged at São Paulo's Corinthians Arena. The venue opened in 2014 and was used when Brazil hosted the World Cup that year. It is primarily the home of "Corinthians," the top-tier soccer club of the city.
The stadium has been modified to accommodate tonight's NFL game, which is expected to have a sellout crowd of more than 45,000 spectators. More than 60,000 fans were able to watch World Cup fixtures here, but the temporary stands were dismantled once the tournament concluded.
“Can’t be more excited to be here,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said via NBC Sports Philadelphia as the team conducted its walkthrough Thursday. “This is my first international trip as a coach. To go out there into the stadium, to see the stadium and play here in front of the great fans here tomorrow.”
NBCUniversal’s grip on the American sports viewer will be tightened during the first weekend of the 2024 NFL regular season with three games in four nights on their properties, including its streaming arm, Peacock.
“They’re using sports as a key part of their identity for Peacock,” media analyst John Kosner told USA TODAY Sports.
Following the season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens on NBC, the Brazilian matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles will air exclusively on Peacock. The weekend ends with the Los Angeles Rams facing the Detroit Lions on NBC for “Sunday Night Football.”
“So I think they can maintain the momentum,” Kosner said, “and it’s probably part of the plan for the NFL.”
What the return of investment is for Peacock and other streamers remains unclear, according to fellow streaming analyst Dan Rayburn, who contended that the NFL’s motivations hurt the average fan who wants to enjoy games with ease.
“The NFL is more fragmented than anybody else out there from a sports league standpoint, and obviously the reason for that is money,” Rayburn told USA TODAY Sports. “That’s all it is.”
Peacock paid a reported $110 million for last season's wild-card playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. This year, that exclusive postseason streaming slot was awarded to Prime Video for $120 million. Netflix paid a reported $150 million for a pair of Christmas Day games, which this year will land on a Wednesday.
“The NFL is the most popular content on television in our country, so it’s clearly worth the investment,” Kosner said.
But how are fans − casual and hardcore − affected?
Read more from USA TODAY Sports' Chris Bumbaca
The two teams are set to start things off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 6.
Friday's game is unique in that it is the lone game of the regular season that will be exclusive to Peacock, NBC's subscription streaming service.
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