The NFL season opened in a familiar setting last night at Arrowhead, but the second game of the season will have a distinct international flavor as the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles travel to Brazil for Philly's "home" opener.
The setting may be exotic, but the issues will be familiar. As usual, it's all about the quarterbacks in this one, as Jordan Love of the Packers looks to continue his dominant run that nearly took Green Bay to the Super Bowl last year, while Jalen Hurts will be trying to rebound from a subpar season that has many observers wondering about his relationship with coach Nick Sirianni.
Game Details
Fixture: Green Bay Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Date and Time: September 6, 2024 @ 8:15 EST
Location: Corinthians Arena, San Paolo, Brazil
Green Bay Packers Team Review
The Packers barely made the playoffs at 9-8, but once they got in they went on a deep run, beating the Cowboys and giving San Francisco all they could handle before falling to the 49ers in the NFC title game.
The key to that run was Jordan Love, who grew up in a hurry as a full-blown starter. No one knew what to expect from Love last year, and it's safe to say that no one thought the de facto rookie would shine to the extent that he did. The hard part will be to duplicate that result and maybe even go further, which is a lot to ask of any quarterback, much less a young one who's still learning the nuances of his craft.
Love will be the focus of attention on offense, but new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will be under the spotlight on the other side of the ball. The Green Bay defense was uneven last year, which was part of the reason they ended up at 9-8, and it will be Hafley's job to fix the holes to keep some of the scoring pressure off the quarterback.
Phiadelphia Eagles Team Review
The Philadelphia Eagles basically had two seasons in one last year. The first one was borderline brilliant as they raced out to a 10-1 record, but everything after that was a disaster as they lost five of six, then dropped what was supposed to be the beginning of a playoff run against Tampa Bay.
The biggest slice of the blame pie went to defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who was replaced down the stretch as Philadelphia continued to flounder. The new guy charged with fixing the Eagles defense is Vic Fangio, whose aggressive approach has given him a stellar reputation.
Offensively, it's all about Hurts and his ability to rebound. Injuries caught up to him last year, to the point where he often looked gun-shy on designed running plays or when the blocking began to break down. He'll need to step up his game to restore Philly to offensive dominance, especially if Love shows out for Green Bay.
Who to Watch
Green Bay Packers
This is a serious quarterback game, so all eyes will be on Love when Green Bay takes the field. Will he regress, or can he maintain the level of excellence he showed last year?
The latter represents a very high bar to clear, but Love has shown ability to do it. And, to be fair, he did sort of set himself up for this with his superb playoff run, so it's not like the expectations can be lowered here. Pack fans have waited patiently for Rodgers' replacement to show up, and in their minds he's here.
Philadelphia Eagles
Similarly, with this being a QB game, Hurts gets the spotlight. The larger issue to watch is Philly's demeanor and body language when things get tough. Normally that doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot, but they collapsed so completely last year that it's natural to wonder about this, especially since they'll literally be in a foreign environment where they can't leave their hotel rooms safely before the game.
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