SAO PAULO, Brazil – The Packers are in South America and eager to kick off the 2024 season Friday night against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arena Corinthians.
Green Bay conducted a high-pace walkthrough on Thursday, with Head Coach Matt LaFleur, quarterback Jordan Love and select Packers players addressing the media before and after practice.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday's activities:
- Packers are ready to make history in Brazil's "Super Bowl."
Green Bay is fully embracing the opportunity to play the first NFL game in South America, which is now the fifth continent to host an NFL preseason or regular-season game.
LaFleur even opened his 14-minute news conference with a hearty "Bom dia," which means "Good morning" in Portuguese.
"We're really excited to be down here in Brazil," LaFleur said. "Your country has been great to us. The people have been fantastic. We're looking forward to making history here and really looking forward to playing the Philadelphia Eagles to start off the 2024 season."
LaFleur said the Packers' experience so far has been "nothing but positive," lauding the fans, hotel, food and organization. The only real obstacle was the 10-hour flight from Green Bay to Sao Paulo. Even then, LaFleur said the plane ride was smooth, with spacious pods to accommodate most of the players.
After practice, Love expressed his gratitude for Brazilian Packers fans, praising those who showed up at the airport to welcome the team to Sao Paulo on Wednesday night.
While the focus has remained solely on beating the Eagles, the history Love and the Packers are making this week isn't lost on the fifth-year quarterback.
"It's an awesome opportunity to play the first ever NFL game here," Love said. "I know there's a lot of fans over here in South America. It's awesome to be live here in front of you guys. I'm very excited. We said it the other day – this is the Brazilian Super Bowl here, so we're gonna make it a great game for you guys."
- Thursday's practice was a medley of a usual Friday and Saturday workout.
The Packers picked up the pace, leading to a bit more high-intensity practice than a typical walkthrough before gameday.
LaFleur compared it to a combination of the Friday and Saturday routine the team goes through before a traditional Sunday game. The Packers incorporated small team and individual periods to "shake the long trip out."
"The length of the flight and the travel is not what we're accustomed to," said LaFleur before practice. "We're gonna pick up the speed a little bit more today than we typically would the day before a game."
- Friday's matchup features two of the NFL's best running backs making their debut with new teams.
Both the Packers and Eagles made splash moves in the backfield this offseason with the signings of Josh Jacobs and Saquon Barkley, respectively, in unrestricted free agency.
The two running backs have combined for four Pro Bowls and more than 10,000 rushing yards and 90 touchdowns scored. Jacobs was the NFL's rushing champion with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 and Barkley won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year with the New York Giants in 2018.
LaFleur expects the ground game to factor heavily into the outcome of Friday's opener, especially with the running threat Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts presents.
"I think the run game is going to be critical for both teams tomorrow," LaFleur said. "Certainly, we both have new backs. So that'll be exciting to see – two premier backs in this league. Obviously, Philly's ability to run the ball with Jalen is always a challenge. I think last time we played the Eagles, he ran for over 100 yards and it was a long day for our team.
"At the same time, I'm looking at our guys, really excited to see what we're able to do. It's gonna be a great challenge but one we're looking forward to."
- Packers' trip to Brazil was a total team effort.
The organization invested a lot of time and effort into preparation for the trip to Sao Paulo, which LaFleur believes was integral to how smoothly everything has gone this week.
For that, LaFleur credits director of football logistics and team travel Matt Klein, director of nutrition Adam Korzun, vice president of player health and performance Bryan "Flea" Engel, along with the rest of the Packers' advance team.
Many of those individuals, along with the equipment staff, will help catch the team up to speed when it finally travels to Arena Corinthians on Friday.
"The setup was outstanding," LaFleur said. "It went as good as I could've ever hoped for or expected it to go."
When asked about international games, LaFleur acknowledged this likely will become more the norm for the Packers and NFL teams.
That's further evidenced by the fact Green Bay was chosen to play in Brazil just two years after becoming the 32nd and final club to play in London when the Packers squared off with the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October 2022.
"This is our second international game in three years, so I'm sure we'll be playing more of these," LaFleur said. "Any opportunity we get to go anywhere, whether it's home, away, overseas, it's a great opportunity for our players, for our team to show what we're all about."
- Green Bay hopes to have the home-field advantage.
Philadelphia is technically the home team, but Green Bay is counting on a strong turnout from Brazilian Packers fans.
"Everybody's been A-plus," LaFleur said. "Hopefully, all our Brazilian fans will show up tomorrow and be cheering on the green and gold. Hopefully, it's a home-field advantage for us."
That largely was the case two years ago when the Packers faced the Giants in London, with "Go Pack Go" chants ringing out throughout the game. In this case, it would be "Vai Pack Vai," as some of the Brazilian media members taught Packers players during their availability.
"I'm not sure what the environment is gonna be like tomorrow at the stadium with all the fans there – how many Packers fans? How many Eagles fans?" Love said. "I'm excited to see it all and just embrace this opportunity and playing in a new environment for us."
