September 10, 2024
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
Eagles rookie Quinyon Mitchell (right) tries to close in on and tackle the Packers' Josh Jacobs during Friday night's Week 1 game in Brazil.
The Eagles are back in Philly, and now that we're a few days removed from the 34-29 opening win over Green Bay down in Brazil, there's been a good amount of time to process how Week 1 played out – from the good to the bad and the ugly.
Obviously, Saquon Barkley stole the show. Jalen Hurts had his moments, but then a few where he even admitted that he put the team in a bad spot. Zack Baun became one of the early unsung heroes, and Mehki Becton ran people over in the trenches, which all led into the Eagles holding on against the Packers, even if it was from pretty.
Now it's on to Kirk Cousins and the Falcons on Monday night, and properly at home at the Linc.
But before the focus fully shifts to Atlanta, here's a bit more of what they've been saying from Friday night in São Paulo...
Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell was challenged all training camp with regular reps against DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, and we found out right away on Friday night if that work carried over into the real thing.
The Packers tested Mitchell immediately when Christian Watson took off streaking down the sideline and to the end zone. Jordan Love lofted up the big pass for his receiver, but Mitchell stuck to Watson the whole way, turned his head around to the ball, then watched it sail out of reach for an incompletion and to force a fourth down.
It was only his first NFL game, yet Mitchell looked and played like an established NFL pro who had been there for years.
There was zero fear in his play, as Fran Duffy's film breakdown highlights:
#Eagles rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell stole the show for me while studying the film this afternoon
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) September 7, 2024
✅ Eye Discipline
✅ Physical Tools
✅ No Panic Downfield
✅ Competitiveness
Showed up in a big way against the #Packers 📈📈📈
Great debut for the first-round pick #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/I7qPeRhVN4
It's the chirping after, too, that really does it. Opposing offenses are going to hate this guy, hopefully for years to come.
Becton was wreaking havoc for the Packers in his Eagles debut, but so was Cam Jurgens on his left and finally at his natural position as a center.
Now, Jurgens did have the slip-up of an early snap that led right to a fumble to start, but he recovered pretty well from it after, creating space that opened up holes for Barkley to zip straight through and walls that provided Hurts with a clean pocket to find his passing lane.
Here's Brian Baldinger breaking down Jurgens' tape from Friday night:
.@Eagles @CameronJurgens @BigTicket73_ the new interior of the Stout U offensive line came to play. #FlyEaglesFly #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/c1SaW59akA
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 8, 2024
We've had a couple of years now to brace for Jurgens stepping in as the successor to Jason Kelce at center. The moment arrived Friday night, and so far so good for the most part.
MORE: Smith in the slot, Hurts' rushing ability, more Eagles thoughts
Two turnovers from the offense on the first two possessions, while pinned back deep in their own end, could've easily buried the Eagles Friday night had the Packers capitalized with some quick touchdowns.
But the defense stood tall, holding the Packers to just two field goals through the first quarter and only one touchdown for the game when Green Bay was within the red zone.
Jordan Love and the Packers' offense did take up a lot of field, but when they were knocking on the door, the Eagles' defense did pretty well to stop them short, as Rebeun Frank wrote in his observations:
The Packers ran 20 offensive plays inside the Eagles’ 20-yard-line and netted 24 yards. Add in penalty yards and the Packers had seven net yards on 20 plays – about 12 ½ inches per play. Critically, the Eagles hounded Jordan Love into 0-for-3 passing on third down in the red zone (although Avonte Maddox’s DPI also came on third down) and Josh Jacobs ran six times for seven yards inside the 20. Last time the Eagles faced at least four red-zone drives and only allowed one TD was a 2022 win over the Steelers at the Linc (TD, INT, FG, FG). I thought Zack Baun in particular was tremendous down at the goal line. He’s credited with an incredible five of his 15 tackles inside the 20 alone. Obviously, you’re not going to win a ton of games giving up 414 yards and a bunch of big plays. But taut red-zone defense can overcome a lot of problems, and Friday night it sure did. [NBCSP]
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Hurts didn't have an outright spectacular game under center, but in the end, he did enough to get the Eagles by, especially when it came time to drain a serious amount of clock late with a slim lead.
But one of the key points of interest going into Week 1 was seeing how well he would handle the blitz, because he struggled with it a ton last season.
After one game, it actually isn't looking to bad, as Tim McManus noted over at ESPN:
Hurts and the Eagles struggled against the blitz last season, but Friday's performance offered promise that things could be turning around. Hurts was 6-of-8 for 91 yards and a touchdown against the blitz while also scrambling once for 8 yards and a first down. With center Jason Kelce retired, Hurts has assumed more of the protection responsibilities. He passed his first test. [ESPN]
But there are many more to go.
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