GREEN BAY – In any Week 1 matchup, there are plenty of unknowns for which teams can't really prepare.
Opponents have spent their offseasons tweaking playbooks and keeping changes under wraps for when the games count again.
But add to the usual season-opening uncertainties the fact that the Packers and Eagles both changed defensive coordinators in the offseason, and there could be surprises galore in this Week 1 matchup in Brazil.
"Vic is one of one," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said, referring to Philadelphia's new hire Vic Fangio, who has been coordinating NFL defenses for 30 years. "There are a lot of guys who've tried to copy and emulate his scheme, and some guys have had success, but not to the level he's had. He's one of the best in the game."
The Packers are doing what they can to get ready. Quarterback Jordan Love mentioned they're studying last year's defensive film from Miami, where Fangio worked in 2023, even though the personnel in Philly will be totally different.
It's difficult to study personnel regardless, as the Eagles held back several key defensive starters in the preseason, and it's mostly educated guesses as to who's going to line up where and in which sub-package when a defense makes major changes.
"A lot of unknowns," Love said. "So you just have to trust the rules of the game plan and go out there, take that opening drive to get a feel … for what their blitz flavors of the day might be and how they're trying to play us."
Love emphasized it takes more than one drive, and learning about an opening opponent can take well into the first half. Coaches and players are reviewing everything on the sideline they can, in the moment, and figuring it out. But there's no point in worrying about that now during the preparation phase.
Week 1 prep is often more internally than externally focused for that reason. Surprises are coming. Expect the unexpected. Then react and adjust.
"I'm sure they didn't unleash everything that they have in their arsenal," LaFleur said of what's on film from the preseason. "Week 1's always, it's a guessing game in some respect.
"That's why you've really got to focus on what you do and knowing your rules inside and out, knowing the details of what you're trying to get done, and that's what we've emphasized to our guys."
The unknown and unexpected cuts both ways, of course. The Packers have a new defensive coordinator, too, in Jeff Hafley, and Green Bay's primary defensive starters played fewer than 10 snaps as a group in the preseason. So Eagles QB Jalen Hurts & Co. are dealing with a similar challenge.
Add to that both offenses working on their share of unscouted looks – with new starting running backs in Philly's Saquon Barkley and Green Bay's Josh Jacobs – and there will be a feeling of newness to the action across the board.
Some new concepts will work. Others will fail. At some point – it might be by halftime, or early in the third quarter – both teams will have emptied their surprise bags, because there's only so much stuff that can be crammed into one game plan.
When that juncture arrives, then the game settles down and starts to look and feel like all the rest.
"It comes down to adjustments," LaFleur said. "You're going to have to adjust Week 1 … and whoever can typically do that better will probably win the game."
An unfamiliar venue for both teams in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after a long flight and different travel logistics, becomes an additional unknown element. That's another piece to this game that can distract and wear down a team, in this case both mentally and physically.
So between now and Friday night's kickoff, the objectives are clear. Simplify the big picture and concentrate on oneself.
"I'm just trying to focus on everything I can do to get myself prepared for the game, for the defense we're going to see, for the game plan," Love said. "There's a lot of stuff that's out of our control."
