Eagles will face the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 season opener in Brazil
The Packers were named the Eagles' season-opening opponent on Wednesday, with the Sept. 6 game in São Paulo, Brazil, marking the NFL's first regular-season game in South America.
The Eagles’ opponent for their season opener in São Paulo, Brazil, is now officially set.
The Green Bay Packers have been named as the visiting team in the Sept. 6 matchup at Arena Corinthians, the first regular-season NFL game to be hosted in South America.
The Eagles had been announced as the host team for the Brazil game in February, and the decision on their opponent came down to the Cleveland Browns and Packers. It will be the Eagles’ second time playing a regular-season game abroad, with the first coming in 2018 when they traveled to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars and won, 24-18. It also will be the Packers’ second time playing a regular-season game abroad; they played the New York Giants in London during the 2022 season and lost, 27-22.
“We’re looking forward to being a part of this historic matchup against the Eagles in São Paulo,” Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement. “We’re excited to play in front of our devoted fans in Brazil and help build upon the international popularity of the NFL and the Packers. We had a great experience playing internationally for the first time a couple of years ago and we’re proud to be part of the league’s continued global growth.”
The game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform, but there will be a local broadcast on NBC10 as well.
During the annual league meetings last month, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said the NFL’s uptick in international games will be important for the league’s long-term growth. The Eagles have begun marketing campaigns in New Zealand, Australia, and Ghana, where they became the first team with such an arrangement in Africa.
“Internationally, I think it’s really important,” Lurie said. “I’m proud that we will be taking the first game to South America. Thirty-eight million sports fans. ... It’s an incredibly dynamic country. Multicultural, a real melting pot in so many ways. Really interesting, whether it’s the music, the culture. Incredible sports fandom. One of the great countries on the planet.
“As part of the international priority, every team is going to host a neutral game. We stepped up and thought, ‘Let’s do it in South America and Brazil, a really dynamic country.’ And then we won’t be doing that as the rotation goes through. But we are big supporters in trying to make the NFL a more popular game around the world.”
The Eagles last played the Packers in 2022 and won, 40-33, at Lincoln Financial Field. The Friday matchup will come one day after the league’s traditional Thursday night season opener including last season’s Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs. The game in Brazil will feature Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love’s first meeting as starting quarterbacks. Both were 2020 draft picks, and Hurts got the first extended action of his career in 2020 against the Packers, a Week 13 loss at Lambeau Field that ended with Carson Wentz getting benched in favor of Hurts.
Although he didn’t take over as the full-time starter until 2023, Love did get some playing time against the Eagles during the team’s 2022 meeting, when he came on in relief of Aaron Rodgers in the fourth quarter. The 25-year-old has since become the leader of a young Green Bay offense coming off a promising 2023 season. The Packers went 9-8 and beat the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs, 48-32, behind a three-touchdown performance from Love. They lost the following week, 24-21, to the San Francisco 49ers. Love finished the season with 4,159 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while completing 64.2% of his passes.