In mid-November last year, the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers were on opposite ends of the NFL spectrum. They were on opposite ends by the end of the season too, but had flipped positions.
The NFL moves fast and the participants in Friday night’s historic matchup in Brazil can attest to it. The Eagles started 10-1 last season, then won only once the rest of the season and were blown out in their first playoff game. The Packers started 3-6 but won seven of their last 10 games including a playoff run that included blasting the Dallas Cowboys in a playoff opener and leading the San Francisco 49ers in the final two minutes of what turned out to be a playoff loss.
When the teams get this season started, they both have high hopes. The Packers are hoping to continue their hot streak from last season, while the Eagles are hoping an offseason of key changes gets them back to Super Bowl contender status.
It’s a fascinating matchup for the first NFL regular-season game that has ever been played in South America. It’s also the first Friday game on opening week for the NFL since 1970. That history is fine, but all the two teams are worried about is that one of the hopeful contenders in the NFC is going home with an 0-1 record.
Eagles try to bounce back
The way the Eagles’ season ended was shocking. They went from 10-1, off a Super Bowl appearance the season before, to one of the worst teams in football. They lost six of their last seven games. A 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round was embarrassing. Head coach Nick Sirianni was brought back but it seemed like a close call. And he came back in a new role.
Sirianni gave up control of the offense to the team’s next coordinator, who ended up being Kellen Moore. Sirianni said that was his idea. Whether that’s true or not, he comes into this season as a CEO coach. Moore will run the offense and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will handle that side of the ball.
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There was other big news. Center Jason Kelce retired, as did defensive lineman Fletcher Cox. Kelce is a near-lock to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Cox has a strong case.
Philadelphia added running back Saquon Barkley in free agency. There was an explosive story from ESPN that detailed the strained relationship between Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts, which will get brought up many more times if the Eagles get off to a slow start.
The Eagles’ roster is still championship worthy. But we’ll find out starting Friday if the stink of last season’s finish has worn off.
Packers riding the wave
The Packers weren’t just good by the end of last season. They got on a run with the youngest roster in the NFL and, based on some measures, the youngest team to ever win a playoff game since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
At the center of it was Jordan Love. He went from a slow start to the season and a lot of questions about his ability to be the Packers’ franchise quarterback. He was incredible over the second half of the season, throwing for 16 touchdowns and one interception over Green Bay‘s final eight regular-season games. Then he had a near-perfect performance in a playoff win over the Cowboys. The Packers paid up, signing Love to a four-year, $220 million deal.
The Packers made changes too. They changed defensive coordinators, hiring Jeff Hafley from his job as Boston College’s head coach. Their two big free-agent additions were running back Josh Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney. The Packers finished last season very well and look better on paper this season.
It’s all a mystery until the teams kick off in São Paulo, Brazil. There are always severe overreactions to anything that happens in Week 1, and given how the Packers and Eagles seasons flipped in November last season, both fan bases will spend all weekend overanalyzing whatever happens on Friday night.