With two teams battling field conditions that should stand as an embarrassment to the NFL on Friday evening in Brazil, the Eagles opened their season against the Packers. They escaped from early offensive disaster in a 34-29 win, but it was an uneven outing from both sides of the ball with the units taking turns saving the day and seemingly falling apart.
A win is a win, however. A game that would've been close to a toss-up if it was being played as a true home game in Philadelphia was won on glorified neutral territory in this international affair. That's huge.
How did it all play out?
The player of the night is Saquon Barkley, who, in his Eagles debut, totaled three touchdowns and looked like the legitimate superstar he was at times during his Giants tenure.
Wheel route!
Making elite plays as both a runner and a receiver, Barkley was even better than advertised when he signed here in free agency for north of $37 million. The lone question that Barkley didn't answer in São Paulo was why he didn't get the ball even more than he already did.
Look, there's a difference between not playing Barkley in the two-minute drill at the end of the first half, spelling him with Kenny Gainwell in his traditional third-down back role and then short-yardage and red zone situations where Barkley's noticeably absent. Credit to Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley for taking Hurts' legs out of the game early, but Hurts did not look as quick as he's been in the past if he's going to be taking it himself so often on read options rather than feeding Barkley. Hurts was not as spry when it came to maneuvering in the pocket as well. That element of his game isn't a necessity for him to be a great quarterback and there were times when he dialed up touchdown passes to Barkley and A.J. Brown and looked as good as a passer as ever, but his decision-making was puzzling at times.
Lofting a ball to DeVonta Smith with multiple defenders blanketing him with no chance of a completion on the team's opening drive of the game was nonsensical. He had a couple near-miss pick-6s on a fourth quarter drive that culminated in a Brett Favre-style throw across his body interception fired into the end zone in the arms of Green Bay's Jaire Alexander. Dangerous throws galore.
Even with those warts, Hurts captained a clock-burning drive in the fourth quarter that went for 7:25 and a field goal that gave the Birds a five-point lead. That's his job ultimately and these are the moments that define him as a quarterback with gutsy running, truly "winnings should cure all" energy.
Even so, with a great 34-point total on the scoreboard for the Birds, there were still points left on the field. Part of that falls on the shoulders of QB1.
What else stood out to me in Week 1:
• Week 1 saw debuts all around for the Eagles. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's new wrinkles with pre-snap motion, like on Brown's 67-yard touchdown catch, and his ability to maximize Barkley's touches appear to be great signs for 2024. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is new here, too, and his ability to allow just six first-quarter points after two Eagles turnovers that gave the Packers prime field position is commendable and saved the offense's asses on the night overall. The perhaps premature concern with Fangio is that this team still doesn't have the ferociousness that the pass rush had in 2022. Bryce Huff underwhelmed to say the least. No defensive lineman had a sack. The development of Nakobe Dean and Quinyon Mitchell, who both flashed and had some missteps against the Packers, could define how Fangio's first year running the show is viewed.
• My defensive game ball would go to Zack Baun. He had two sacks, including the final play of the game, and was just always around the ball. How about the Eagles doing a one-year deal for a linebacker in free agency and it actually panning out? What a world that would be!
• DeVonta Smith is silky and smooth as a route-runner. That's no surprise. He had an ultra-clutch first down catch right before the final two-minute morning that set up the Birds to ice the game.
• The defense was starved for a big play in the second half and a Reed Blankenship interception was just that:
• It was a night that Avonte Maddox would like to forget between penalties and blown coverage.
• Jalen Carter is held on nearly every play. It's not going to be called consistently and certainly not to the degree that Eagles fans would hope. It reminds me of how Joel Embiid is essentially fouled on every single play. He's a force.
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