SAO PAULO, Brazil – A night of missed opportunities spelled defeat for the Packers in their 2024 opener at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night.
Green Bay settled for too many field goals while in scoring range, missing one of the kicks, and missed a ton of tackles on defense in falling to the Eagles, 34-29.
Even worse, Love had to be helped off the field when he was injured on the third-to-last play of the game while trying to avoid a sack. He had been dealing with a calf issue during the game, and ultimately he couldn't take the final snaps.
The Packers won the turnover battle 3-1 but kicked field goals after all three turnovers while the Eagles scored a TD on their lone takeaway. The Packers got within two points on a field goal with 7:52 left, but Philly proceeded to kill all but the last 27 seconds of the clock with a long, 16-play march that ended in a field goal for the five-point margin.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was 20-of-34 for 278 yards with two TDs and two INTs for an 80.3 passer rating. WR A.J. Brown had five catches for 119 yards and a score, and WR DeVonta Smith had seven catches for 84 yards.
RB Saquon Barkley had 24 carries for 109 yards and two TDs for Philly as well.
For the Packers, Love was 17-of-34 for 260 yards with two TDs and one INT for an 83.0 passer rating. RB Josh Jacobs had 16 carries for 84 yards, with RB Emanuel Wilson adding four rushes for 46.
WR Jayden Reed had four receptions for 138 yards, including a 70-yard TD, and he added a 33-yard TD on the ground. WR Romeo Doubs had four catches for 50 yards.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Packers lead Eagles 6-0 after first quarter
Green Bay won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. Jordan Love, Kenny Clark and Matt Orzech were the captains.
Green Bay converted its first third down when Romeo Doubs plucked a pass low and brought it in for a 19-yard gain to the Eagles' 42.
On third-and-6, Love caught the Eagles with 12 men on the field and appeared to hit Jayden Reed for a 38-yard touchdown, but the play was nullified because Green Bay also had 12 men on the field.
After a deep incompletion to Watson, the Packers were going to try on fourth-and-6 but opted to punt after a false start penalty on right tackle Zach Tom. Daniel Whelan coffin-cornered his punt for 33 yards, pinning Philadelphia back at its own 10.
Eric Wilson tackled Saquon Barkley for a loss of five on the Eagles' first play. After an incomplete pass, Jalen Hurts tried to tread a pass down the seam to DeVonta Smith, but Xavier McKinney picked it off and returned it 16 yards to the Eagles' 19.
Love was sacked on first down, but Jalen Carter was flagged for unnecessary roughness, setting up first-and-10 at the Philadelphia 12. The Packers moved back to the 22 following a holding penalty on Rasheed Walker.
A 9-yard screen to Josh Jacobs set up Brayden Narveson's first career NFL field goal from 31 yards, which the rookie kicker made to push the Packers out to a 3-0 lead with 8 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Packers' defense got the offense the ball back again, with Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt pushing the Eagles' line back to help force Hurts aborted snap. Wyatt recovered at the Philadelphia 13. It's the first time the Packers had two takeaways in the first quarter of a season opener since 2007 (also vs. Philadelphia).
First-round pick Jordan Morgan began rotating in at right guard on the third offensive series. Reed gained nine yards on a pass in the flat and then Love connected with Romeo Doubs for 10 yards on second-and-11 against an all-out pressure.
Jacobs lost two yards on a third-and-1 carry, but Love checked to a run on fourth-and-2 and Jacobs picked up the two yards and the first down.
Doubs was called for offensive pass interference on first-and-goal from the 3, pushing Green Bay back to the Eagles' 13. Tucker Kraft got eight yards back after leaking into the flat. After two incompletions, Narveson banged through a 23-yard field goal to push Green Bay's lead to 6-0 with 3:01 left in the first quarter.
Packers lead Eagles 19-17 at halftime
Philadelphia opened the second quarter at the Green Bay 34. The Packers stopped the Eagles on their first attempt at the "Tush Push" on third-and-1, but T.J. Slaton jumped offsides when Philadelphia lined up to do it again.
On second-and-11, Barkley looked in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to put the Eagles ahead 7-6 with 12:38 left in the first half.
Rhyan went back in at right guard and Emanuel Wilson got his first series of the night, picking up 14 yards on his first carry to the Green Bay 44. He gained another 23 yards on his next two carries to move the ball to the Eagles' 33.
The Packers used their third timeout with 10:24 left in the half. Reed came on an end-around and dodged his way to a 33-yard TD. Narveson initially made the extra point, but Green Bay opted to try for two after Philadelphia was offsides on the kick. Jacobs was stopped short on the two-point conversion, leaving Green Bay's lead 12-7 with 10:16 left in the first half.
The Packers had Philadelphia in third-and-8, but A.J. Brown caught a stop route and took it for 20 yards up the sideline. On second-and-9, Smith came free for a 25-yard catch to the Packers' 22.
The Eagles retook the lead, 14-12, with Barkley's 11-yard TD run with 5:34 left in the first half.
Love nearly was picked off by Nakobe Dean on first down but came back to connect with Reed across the middle who made the next defender miss en route to a 70-yard touchdown to put the Packers back up 19-14 with 5:11 left in the half.
Philadelphia converted on third-and-7 with a 21-yard pass from Hurts to Dallas Goedert. Hurts ran a keeper on third-and-8 for five yards to reach the two-minute warning. On fourth-and-3, Hurts threw a 7-yard slant to Smith to move the chains.
On first-and-10 from the Green Bay 14, Keisean Nixon sacked Hurts for a loss of six. It was his first career full sack in the regular season. A false start by Goedert moved Philadelphia back to the 25 and the Eagles settled for a 38-yard Jake Elliott field goal to send the game into halftime.
Eagles lead Packers 31-26 after three
The Eagles opened the second half with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Brown to pull back ahead 24-19 with 14:09 left in the third quarter.
Jacobs picked up eight yards on a carry before fumbling but receiver Bo Melton jumped on it to retain possession. The Packers got a fresh set of downs after Zack Baun for unnecessary roughness, moving the ball to the Eagles' 45.
After motioning Reed across, Kraft came free underneath for a 29-yard gain to the Eagles' 16. On third-and-9, Avonte Maddox was flagged for a 13-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Dontayvion Wicks.
On first-and-goal, Love fired a 2-yard slant for a touchdown to put Green Bay ahead once again 26-24 with 11:55 left in the third quarter. The six-play, 70-yard drive lasted 2:14.
Rashan Gary shut down the Eagles on their next series. After batting down Hurts' pass on first down, Gary sacked Hurts for a loss of seven on third-and-8 to force the Eagles to punt for the first time.
Doubs caught a 12-yard out on the first play of Green Bay's next series, but the drive stalled after two illegal shifts and Love not being able to connect with Reed and Doubs across the middle.
The Packers' defensed earned a second consecutive three-and-out, with Isaiah McDuffie pressuring Hurts into an incompletion on third-and-2.
Jacobs gained nine yards on a first-down carry, but the Packers were pushed back after Walker was called for holding. On second-and-11, Love was picked off by Reed Blankenship.
Taking over at the Green Bay 24, the Eagles converted the takeaway into a touchdown with Barkley rushing in for a 2-yard score to put Philadelphia ahead 31-26 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
Doubs caught a 9-yard pass and then Green Bay moved across midfield with an 11-yard screen to Jacobs, who then broke a 22-yard run up the middle on the next play. The drive stalled at the 25 and Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal off the right upright.
The third-quarter ended with a 34-yard Barkley run.
Eagles outlast Packers 34-29
Edgerrin Cooper came on a blitz and batted down Hurts' pass on first down. After Nixon nearly intercepted Hurts on second-and-13, Jaire Alexander picked off Hurts in the end zone on third down and returned it to the Green Bay 13.
Jacobs broke a 32-yard run up the left sideline to start Green Bay's next drive. After a 6-yard pass to Watson, Love floated a 26-yard pass to Reed on third-and-5 to move back into scoring territory.
Wilson moved the chains with a 9-yard carry and 2-yard reception, setting up first-and-10 at the Philadelphia 13. After two Love incompletions high, Green Bay sent out Narveson for a 26-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 31-29 with 7:52 left.
Quay Walker tackled Barkley for a loss of two on first down but Philadelphia got a fresh set of downs after a defensive holding call. Barkley and Hurts ran the ball into Green Bay territory before an illegal formation penalty on Philadelphia moved it back to its own 47.
The Packers declined an illegal downfield pass on Philadelphia but then was flagged for defensive holding. The Eagles kept pushing the ball downfield, with Green Bay using its first timeout after a 16-yard pass to Smith moved Philadelphia into the Packers' red zone.
Smith caught a slant on second-and-8 to set up first-and-goal as the game reached the two-minute warning. On third-and-goal from the Green Bay 1, Hurts fumbled the snap and lost two yards. The Eagles used their final timeout with 30 seconds left. Elliott made a 21-yard field goal to extend Philadelphia's lead to 34-29 with 27 seconds left.
Green Bay started at its own 16 after Keisean Nixon's 24-yard return. Love found Reed for 33 yards on first down but then Love and center Josh Myers were injured on the next play. On second-and-6, backup quarterback Malik Willis missed Doubs. On third down, Willis was sacked to end the game.
