Saquon Barkley stands out in Eagles’ win against Packers in Brazil debut

Rob Demovsky

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Rob Demovsky

ESPN Staff Writer

Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.

Tim McManus

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Tim McManus

ESPN Staff Writer

Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.

Sep 7, 2024, 08:56 AM

SÃO PAULO — The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles flew all the way to Brazil to open their 2024 seasons.

It was a night of firsts: The NFL’s first game in the Southern Hemisphere, the first opening week game on a Friday since 1970 and the first time running back Saquon Barkley played as for the Eagles.

After a slow start to the game, both teams went blow for blow in the second quarter, with two Barkley touchdowns and a pair from Green Bay receiver Jayden Reed.

The second half went back-and-forth before the Eagles pulled away and sealed the 34-29 Week 1 victory.

Here are the most important things to know from Friday night for both teams:

Philadelphia Eagles

It was the Saquon Barkley show, for all the world to see.

Making his debut for the Philadelphia Eagles, Barkley dazzled in front of the capacity crowd at Arena Corinthians, rushing for more than 100 yards and scoring three total touchdowns to push the Eagles past the Green Bay Packers.

It’s just what the Eagles’ brass hoped for when they signed him to a three-year, $37.75 million contract this spring. He was a force on the ground and in the air, highlighted by his 18-yard TD reception along the left sideline in the second quarter. They expected him to be revitalized playing behind a better offensive line than he had with the New York Giants and alongside a plethora of playmakers, such as receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and the 27-year old looked it.

Barkley is the second Eagles player in franchise history to score three touchdowns in their team debut, joining Terrell Owens in 2004.

There’s a long way to go. Barkley needs to prove he can stay healthy over the course of a 17-game season and beyond. But he’s off to a sensational start.

QB breakdown: Jalen Hurts had an uneven performance. He threw a pair of interceptions and was charged with a lost fumble. He could have cost his team the game with his pick in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. But he led a game-sealing drive in the closing moments to help send the Eagles back to Philadelphia with a victory.

Eye-popping stat: The Eagles’ 35 yards in the first quarter marked their fewest in an opening quarter since Week 17 of 2022 versus the Saints when a Gardner Minshew-led team had just two yards. They were held scoreless in the first quarter only twice last season and lost both games (Week 14 vs. the Dallas Cowboys and Week 18 vs. the New York Giants).

Troubling trend: A defense that struggled badly in 2023 was leaky for a good part of the game, serving as a reminder that new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio isn’t going to fix this thing over night. There were a number of missed tackles and explosive plays that bit them, as illustrated by Reed’s 70-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter. The good news: the Packers were held to just one touchdown in four red zone trips.

Next game: vs. Atlanta Falcons (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 16)

Green Bay Packers

It could have been expected that the Packers’ defense would be a work in progress, and that they might encounter issues in the kicking game. After all, this was the debut of new coordinator Jeff Hafley’s defense and rookie kicker Brayden Narveson’s first game.

But Jordan Love and the offense were supposed to pick up where they left off last season — as one of the most potent units in the league. Except it couldn’t keep up with the Eagles, and Love couldn’t finish the game. He had to be helped off on the third-to-last play with an apparent lower leg injury in his first game since signing a four-year, $220 million contract extension this summer.

On a slippery field in which Love lost his footing and appeared to battle calf issues, he completed just 17 of 34 passes. And while he threw for 222 yard and two touchdowns with one interception, it wasn’t enough to overcome Barkley slicing up Hafley’s D and a late missed field goal.

Promising trend: Reed’s 10-touchdown (eight receiving, two running) rookie season was no fluke. While it remains to be seen whether he will eventually become the Packers’ No. 1 receiver in Year 2, his knack for big plays appears to be real. With a 33-yard rushing touchdown on an end-around and a 70-yard receiving touchdown, Reed became the third player in the past 40 years to have a 70-yard receiving score and a 30-yard rushing score in the same game.

Troubling trend: It wasn’t the best of debuts for new kicker Brayden Narveson. After making short field goals of 31 and 23 yards plus his first two extra points, the rookie, who was claimed off waivers last week, hit the right upright and missed a 43-yard field goal late in the third quarter. He bounced back and made his next one, a 26-yarder in the fourth quarter. Narveson became the sixth kicker on the Packers roster since the end of last season and was GM Brian Gutekunst’s choice after a training camp competition between Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph failed to produce a clear-cut choice.

Troubling trend II: Maybe it was just an opening-game issue, but penalties hurt the Packers throughout. They committed red zone holding penalties on their two first-quarter drives and had to settle for field goals. In the third quarter, they had two illegal shift penalties on the same drive and had to punt. When they needed a stop to get the ball back at the end, defensive tackle Kenny Clark was called for a defensive hold on a third-down play. In all, they had 10 accepted penalties for 71 yards.

Pivotal play: There’s never a good time for an interception, but the one Love threw in the third quarter was as untimely as could be for the Packers. Clinging to a 26-24 lead and backed up in Eagles’ territory, Love floated a pass over the middle toward tight end Luke Musgrave that safety Reed Blankenship stepped into and picked off. It led the another Barkley touchdown to put the Eagles ahead 31-26.

Next game: vs. Indianapolis Colts (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Sept. 15)

Conclusion: In conclusion, the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil set the stage for an exciting start to the 2024 NFL season. Both teams showed flashes of brilliance and areas of improvement, leaving fans eager for more action in the weeks to come.