SAO PAULO, Brazil – Jayden Reed was the shot of energy the Packers needed from the beginning until the very end of Friday night's showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.
While Green Bay came up short in a 34-29 defeat at Arena Corinthians, the second-year receiver gave his team a chance with a career-high 138 receiving yards and a touchdown on just four catches.
Before all that, Reed got the offense going midway through the second quarter on the ground when he made several Eagles defenders miss on a career-long 33-yard touchdown run off an end-around.
On the next possession, Reed continued to prove elusive on a 70-yard TD pass from quarterback Jordan Love that put Green Bay up 19-14 at the time.
"He did exactly what we all knew he was capable of doing," receiver Christian Watson said. 'I told him after the game we gotta be a better supporting cast. When he's having a game like that, other guys have to be able to step up and make plays too and we come out on the other side of it."
Reed made perhaps the two biggest plays of the fourth quarter for Green Bay when he looked in a 26-yard floater from Love with a safety bearing down on him, which set up Brayden Narveson's 26-yard field goal a few moments later.
Although the Packers' chances at a comeback were low when they retook possession of the ball down five with 22 seconds remaining, Reed made a spectacular 33-yard sideline catch while also managing to get out of bounds.
The 2023 second-round pick has now scored nine touchdowns in his last nine games (including playoffs). Although that provided little solace in the defeat, Reed was happy to come through for a deep receiving corps.
"With this room, it's any given week, anybody can make those plays I made today," Reed said. "We're very dynamic in that room, so I don't look at it as a wide receiver one thing. I think we all are ones if you ask me."
The Green Bay Packers kicked off their first game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
Jacobs praises halftime tweaks: The Packers switched a few things up schematically to counter what Philadelphia was showing them after Josh Jacobs was held to just four yards on six carries through the first two quarters.
The former All-Pro running back racked up 80 rushing yards on 10 carries in the second half, including a 32-yard gain that started Green Bay's 10-play, 79-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter.
"We just changed our scheme," Jacobs said. "They had a great game plan the first half, so we changed our scheme like third or fourth drive and it started paying off."
Second-year running back Emanuel Wilson added 46 rushing yards on four carries after initially being questionable to play due to a hip injury. As a team, Green Bay finished with 163 rushing yards on 21 carries (7.8 yards per attempt).
Myers update: Center Josh Myers said he was doing fine after exiting on the same play in which quarterback Jordan Love was injured late in the fourth quarter.
The fourth-year veteran said he was experiencing significant cramping in his legs throughout the second half but was doing fine postgame after getting a couple IV bags.
"I was cramping super bad. My legs, they were locked out," Myers said. "I took a set on that play and just fell over basically. I couldn't go anymore."
Alongside Myers, the Packers used both Sean Rhyan and rookie first-round pick Jordan Morgan at right guard. The rotation saw Rhyan take two series before Morgan stepped in for one.
When Myers exited near the end, Elgton Jenkins moved to center with Rhyan replacing Jenkins at left guard.
Barrage of touchbacks: If Friday was any indication, it might be tough for Keisean Nixon to demonstrate his All-Pro credentials on kick returns early in the season.
The Eagles were perfectly content with having Braden Mann swing away on kickoffs, which resulted in five straight touchbacks to the Packers' 30 to start the game.
Nixon took one out in the final minute of the game, but his 24-yard return only got the ball back to the Green Bay 16.
"The last time I played them, I had like 170 (yards) so I expected them not to kick me the ball," Nixon said. "I feel like a lot of teams are going to do it. They'd rather us take it at the 30, which is boring, but I can't control it. I just gotta make plays on defense."
Plenty of support: After the game, the Packers immediately packed up and began the 10-hour flight back to Green Bay.
Despite the loss, the Packers enjoyed everything leading up to the game and also the atmosphere at Arena Corinthians, which included several "Go Pack Go" chants.
"I felt a lot of support," Reed said. "I thought it was a really good experience. A lot of noise. It was louder than I thought. I saw a lot of different jerseys around, which was interesting. It was a really fun experience."
