Vitória das águias — 5 takeaways from Packers-Eagles a day later
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Fernando Llano/AP)
As águias vencem feio.
Ok, I will stop with the Portuguese.
The Eagles traveled 4,754 miles to play their Week 1 in São Paulo, Brazil. 10-hour flight. Could you imagine that flight home if they had lost?
They almost had to experience it, but Saquon Barkley‘s hat trick and two red-zone defense stands saved the Eagles’ you-know-what as they were able to come away with a 34-29 season-opening win over the Packers in front of 47,236 fans at Corinthians Arena.
The Eagles are the first team to win a game in South America, and they did it in such Eagles fashion. It was not easy. It was actually very ugly. But the Eagles found a way to win it, something they could not do in the second half of last season.
Nick Sirianni is now 4-0 in season openers. How exciting.
Here are my five observations a day after the win:
All-Hail Saquon
Saquon Barkley is a Philadelphia Eagle. It is still kind of hard to believe. And his game on Friday night, my goodness.
On 24 carries, Barkley rushed for 109 yards, averaged 4.5 yards per run, and two touchdowns, while also receiving an 18-yard TD pass for the Eagles’ first score of the season.
And that TD catch was the kind of play you never see from a running back. Never. He had ridiculous control to make the catch and keep both feet in bounds.
He was fast and explosive on the ground. Had an 11-yard TD run in the second quarter and a big 34-yard run right after Packers kicker Brayden Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal at the end of the third. Barkley also had three straight strong runs after the Blankenship interception giving the Eagles tough late-game yards.
Barkley looked like the star we were envisioning. And there were questions before Friday night. Barkley has only had one real super season since he has been in the NFL. Was he starting to decline? Or was it just the talent of the Giants was not there?
We got our answer, and it was Giants owner John Mara’s worst nightmare. That dude may never sleep again.
Elite or foolish
Jalen Hurts was either elite or so far from it Friday night.
He threw for 278 yards, tossed two nice TDs to A.J. Brown and Barkley, and made some nice plays, especially on that final-clinching drive. The one 67-yard TD pass to Brown was a dime that he just took to the house.
But, there were a lot of negatives in Hurts’ game.
He threw two interceptions, and both were meaningless and reminded me of a lot of his forced picks from last season. Throws into traffic with no chance of an Eagle receiving.
The first one he just tossed up into a mass of four Packers. Bad. The second one at the Packers’ 14 with the Eagles needing a field goal for an eight-point lead, he tried to throw off balance and across his body to Brown in the end zone where the Packers were swarming. Really bad.
He also fumbled the football on a bad snap by Cam Jurgens on the second drive. It seemed like Hurts was still saying the cadence, and Jurgens just fired it back at an unready Hurts. Jurgens is going to need some work. But he will get there.
The Eagles turned the ball over on their first two drives of the season. The 2014 Jaguars were the last team to do that.
This is Year 5 for Hurts, and he is making basic mistakes every elite QB does not. I know it is a new offense, but Hurts needs to be smarter with the ball.
Defense?
Eh, weird day for the defense.
They allowed 414 yards, 29 points, 163 rushing yards, and a couple of long touchdowns.
There was a chance where Nakobe Dean had a pick right in his hands but dropped it. The Packers then scored a 70-yard TD later that drive. The Eagles got nearly nothing by their guys on the edge. Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham combined for no sacks and one hurry. They are going to have to be better. Also, did Huff even travel to Brazil? He got a a three-year, $51.1 million deal this offseason and I did more from my couch than he did on the field. That cannot happen.
This was also Graham’s last season opener, which is so depressing.
But they actually played very well at key moments. They held the Packers to field goals on three red-zone possessions, two of them very early in the game, and also a missed field goal on a drive down near the red zone. The defense kind of saved the offense with those stands early in this ballgame.
Early in the game, Jordan Love lofted up a 38-yard pass to Christian Watson, and Quinyon Mitchell was all over him with excellent coverage to break it up. Mitchell talked crap, got in Watson’s face and it was electric. Dean blew up a guy, and Reed Blankenship had a huge interception, as well. That pick led to Barkley’s third TD run of the game, a big one late in the third.
They have a lot of work to do. There were miscommunications, a good amount of blown coverages, and missed tackles. But there were a lot of big plays, big tackles, and big pressures. Look at the Packers’ last five drives: punt, interception, missed field goal, field goal, game over. They came together late in the game to pull it out.
Got to love that.
What a find
Zack Baun made his Eagles debut Friday night, and wow was he impressive.
Two sacks, two QB hits, two hurries, and 15 tackles. His one sack came on the last play of the game to end it.
Baun was everywhere on the field. He was in a lot of plays and obviously made a ton of them. He did miss a tackle in the second quarter that ended in a Packers TD. Jayden Reed got a couple of nice blocks, and Baun picked up on Reed, attacking him, diving, and slipping right through him. Baun did not make any more mistakes after that.
Baun signed a one-year, $1.6 million full-guaranteed deal with the Eagles this offseason. After the Saints let him go, the Eagles snagged what is looking like a really good linebacker for not that much money.
So far, excellent find by the Birds.
Field conditions
There were a lot of negative notes from this game being played in Brazil, as you have heard over the past few months. But the field conditions were really bad. Somebody was slipping on pretty much every play and there were divots all over the field.
According to Howard Eskin (rolls eyes), it is new turf that was agreed to by the Eagles and Packers heads of the grounds crew. It is the same grass as in Philadelphia and Green Bay. The slipping is caused by the high humidity and mist in the air, which made the grass wet.
But, they were also playing on a fast soccer field, which is what happens when football is played on that.
So, just a mess. But the Eagles won. So that is all that matters.
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