Eagles-Packers analysis: Saquon Barkley’s 3-TD debut sinks Green Bay, 34-29, in São Paulo

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Amid the serenade of whistling fans, the occasional rhythm of a Brazilian drum line and the low rumble of a muffled PA announcer, the Eagles opened the 2024 season with a shootout 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Corinthians Arena.

As Braden Mann and the Eagles’ kickoff unit took the field, the months of planning for an intercontinental flight and all the anticipation that came with the NFL’s first regular-season game in South America gave way to a clash between two of the NFC’s most talented teams. There were sloppy starts and slick field conditions throughout the first half, a raucous halftime show from Anitta flush with fireworks that reverberated beyond the walls of the open-air stadium and throughout surrounding area, and a down-to-the-wire finish spurred on by the Eagles’ star power at the skill positions.

Here’s our instant analysis of the Eagles’ season-opening victory in Brazil.

Saquon Barkley’s tenure got off to an anticlimactic start, but he made up for lost time soon enough.

The running back who signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the team in the offseason slipped 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage on the opening play of the Eagles’ first drive.

Barkley’s next two carries went for 3 and 5 yards, respectively, but he eventually broke free for an 11-yard gain on the Eagles’ third series and, three plays later, caught an 18-yard touchdown pass on a well-designed play that sent him on a wheel route out of the backfield and toward the front pylon.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Saquon Barkley shines in debut; defensive line struggles vs. Packers

Barkley wasn’t done. On the Eagles’ next drive, he broke off an 11-yard run for his first rushing touchdown as a member of the Eagles to give the Birds their first lead.

Touchdowns aside, Barkley’s biggest impact may have come as the game settled down in the second half. The star running back restored the four-minute offense the Eagles leaned on so often during the 2022 season, steadily gaining positive yardage as the Eagles tried to wrest control of a one-possession game late in the third quarter. Barkley broke off his longest run of the night on such a drive, finding a crease on the left side of the Eagles’ offensive line and breaking free for a 34-yard gain.

Barkley finished with 24 carries for 109 yards, two catches for 23 yards, and three total touchdowns to sustain the Eagles offense through its low moments at various points of the game. Receiver A.J. Brown finished with 119 yards on five receptions, including a 67-yard pass from Jalen Hurts at the onset of the second half.

“He made some huge, huge plays throughout this entire game,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “And he made it in the pass game, he made plays in the run game. … He made some huge plays in critical moments and scored a bunch of touchdowns. To have him on our football team means a lot.”

After spending the entirety of the preseason watching from the sideline, the Eagles offense showed plenty of rust in the early going. Hurts’ extended stretch without throwing an interception during training camp practices was proven for naught on the Eagles’ opening series as the 26-year-old threw an ill-advised pass down the seam to DeVonta Smith that ended with Xavier McKinney picking off his former Alabama teammate.

The Eagles’ second series wasn’t much better. The offense went to a silent count to contend with crowd noise, leading to Cam Jurgens snapping to an unsuspecting Hurts as he made a check at the line of scrimmage. Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt recovered the fumble, which was charged to Hurts for a second turnover deep in the Eagles’ own territory on as many series.

» READ MORE: David Murphy: Saquon Barkley Show saves Eagles’ putrid defense and Jalen Hurts in the NFL’s Brazilian misadventure

The Eagles eventually shook off the cobwebs offensively and kept pace with the Packers thanks to a pair of timely defensive stops early in the game, but the lack of preseason reps in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system cost them a chance at early control in a close game.

Hurts’ miscues persisted in key moments of the game as well. Similar to last year’s season opener, he wasn’t the threat on the ground that he typically is and made some poor decisions in the passing game with the Eagles threatening to go up two possessions in the fourth quarter. Facing second-and-13 from the Packers’ 14-yard line, Hurts dubiously targeted Jahan Dotson and was fortunate not to get intercepted by Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon. The following play, he was late targeting Brown in the end zone and floated a pass that was intercepted by Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander.

The final miscue, albeit relatively inconsequential, came when Hurts fumbled the snap on a quarterback sneak 2 yards away from the end zone. Barkley recovered the fumble, preserving the Eagles’ chance of getting an important field goal with 30 seconds remaining.

The Packers showed rust of their own, committing 10 penalties, contributing to a sluggish start offensively even when receiving a short field off of turnovers. The most costly penalty may have come late in the fourth quarter, when defensive holding called on Green Bay defensive tackle Kenny Clark gave the Eagles an automatic first down after Hurts came up short of the sticks on third-and-7.

Hurts finished with 20 completions on 34 passing attempts for 278 yards, two touchdowns, with two interceptions, and two fumbles, one of which was recovered by Green Bay.

“We couldn’t have played a worse first quarter than we did offensively,” Sirianni said. “And then we came back down the field and he hit Saquon with an unbelievable throw. He’s going to want some plays back, obviously … it wasn’t perfect by any means, we can help him out with some play calls here and there as well, but I thought he responded good.”

When assessing the Eagles defense, the inflection point comes down to a four-play stretch in the second quarter.

The group forced a punt on the Packers’ opening drive and pulled off two timely stops after turnovers from the offense, but was unraveled by four consecutive rushing plays from Green Bay that went for 70 yards. The defense struggled to recover for the rest of the evening.

The four-play stretch started with a 14-yard run by Packers running back Emanuel Wilson, who ran for 5 yards on the next snap and 18 yards afterward. The trio of runs set up an end-around to Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed, who came across the formation on an orbit motion, shook Eagles linebacker Zack Baun in the open field, and scored from 33 yards out.

» READ MORE: The funniest guy in the Eagles locker room, the team’s secret basketball star, and more from the Week 1 broadcast

The touchdown run was followed by two more scoring drives from Green Bay to close out the first half, the first spanning 62 yards and ending in a field goal and the second coming on a 70-yard touchdown catch from Reed after the second-year wideout seemingly benefited from Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson getting caught out of position on the back end of the defense.

The difference for the defense came inside the 20, where the group held the Packers to just one touchdown in four red-zone trips. The Eagles held the Packers to a field goal on their penultimate drive thanks to two forced incompletions from their own 8-yard line.

“Some of the things we can’t control, we handled it like stepping up in the end zone and holding them to three points,” Gardner-Johnson said. “That’s something we have to [do] a little bit better, just cleaning up our tackling, but everyone knows this, they get paid, too. Some of those tackles are more difficult than most. So we just have to go out there with better angles.”

Speaking of Gardner-Johnson’s missed assignment, the Eagles’ rebuilt secondary had its share of ups and downs against a talented Packers passing attack.

With Isaiah Rodgers sidelined with a hand injury, the team went with a cornerback trio of Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, and Avonte Maddox for most of the game with Cooper DeJean and Kelee Ringo mixing in when the defense used dime packages with extra defensive backs.

Mitchell, who spent time both in the slot and on the outside during training camp, had a touchdown-saving pass breakup covering Packers wide receiver Christian Watson on the opening drive. The first-round rookie squeezed Watson down the sideline and contested the catch well enough to force an incompletion and jawed at Watson after the play. Mitchell had another breakup midway through the third quarter, getting a hand on a pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks near the sideline.

Reed Blankenship also made his share of big plays, including a third-quarter interception that gave the Eagles a short field for their go-ahead touchdown drive.

Outside of Mitchell and Blankenship, things weren’t as steady.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love targeted Maddox late in the first half, drawing a pass-interference penalty on the veteran defensive back for a 13-yard gain and going after him the next play for a 2-yard touchdown pass to Watson.

Love, who came off injured in the final seconds of the game, finished 17-for-34 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Still, the Packers’ scoring output was largely driven by chunk plays from the 25-year-old in timely moments. The biggest gain came on the 70-yard completion to Reed, with Love extending the play by stepping up in the pocket and finding his receiver wide open in the middle of the field.

The Eagles’ logos may have been on full display at Corinthians Arena, but there were a few notable differences, including the field conditions, between the Brazilian soccer pitch and Lincoln Financial Field.

Barkley’s slip on the Eagles’ opening play turned out to be a harbinger of things to come as players from both teams slipped during key moments in the first half. It cut both ways; on multiple occasions, Eagles receivers slipped on their routes while Grant Calcaterra reeled off a chunk gain on a drag route after his defender slipped in coverage.

Things settled down in the second half, possibly after some cleat changes for both teams during halftime, which may have contributed to a lower-scoring affair down the stretch.

“Certain grasses in the U.S., they’re the same,” Brown said postgame. “It comes with the game of football. You can’t pick and choose which grass you play on. It wasn’t that bad. We changed cleats and made the most of it. I think some of us did. I know I did after the first drive.”