Winners, losers as Eagles repel Packers 34-29 in Brazil originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It’s not the way they drew it up, but it’s a win nonetheless for the Eagles.
Philadelphia on Friday repelled the Green Bay Packers 34-29 to conclude the NFL’s first ever game in South America, which transpired in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Jalen Hurts endured a rough start with two turnovers, but bounced back in the second half as Jordan Love and Co. couldn’t capitalize.
The game came down to the final possession, but newly acquired quarterback Malik Willis, who had to replace an injured Love for the final play of the game, couldn’t get off a throw and was sacked.
Let’s analyze the contest further with five winners and losers:
Loser: New York Giants. Philadelphia’s NFC East rival had to watch their former star running back explode on his new team. Barkley, 27, was the heartbeat for the Eagles’ win, logging three total touchdowns. He rushed for 109 yards on 24 carries for two scores while also adding 23 yards on two catches and a touchdown.
If this is the level of production Barkley can bring on a consistent basis, it’ll make Philly’s offense much more dangerous than last season.
LOSER: Quarterback play
Hurts and Love are two of the best quarterbacks in the league, but that wasn’t always the case in this one. Hurts completed 20 of 34 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns and two picks while also fumbling snaps twice. One of them was recovered by Barkley, while the other was a mistake by Philly’s new center. Hurts also rushed for 33 yards on 13 attempts, so there’s plenty of overall work to do for him to regain form.
Love completed just 17 of 34 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, which could’ve been avoided as well. He benefitted from a 70-yard catch-and-run to wideout Jayden Reed in which Philly left its secondary exposed. Now all eyes will be on Love’s injury status.
WINNER: Jayden Reed, Packers
While Josh Jacobs picked up momentum later in the game, it was young wideout Reed that kept the Packers in it during the first half when both teams kept exchanging scores.
Reed, 24, took home a rushing attempt for a 33-yard touchdown while catching four passes for 138 yards and a score, which was the aforementioned 70-yarder.
LOSER: Turnover conversion
The Eagles turned the ball over three times to just one for Green Bay. Two of those were picks by Hurts while the other was the aforementioned snap fumble. Green Bay should’ve been able to seize a close win itself, but it left either too many points on the board or didn’t score at all.
That was the case with its two opening field goals in the first quarter, which came right before Philadelphia put up 17 points in the second period and 14 in the third. That’ll be an aspect Matt LaFleur and Co. will need to improve moving forward.
New signing Baun had a tremendous debut for Philly. A 2020 third-round pick by the New Orleans Saints, Baun recorded a game-high 15 tackles (11 solo), which included two sacks, two QB hits and a tackle for loss. One of the sacks came against Willis on the final play of the game.
Linebacker play was an issue for Philadelphia once its collapse last season gradually occurred, but Baun brought steel that was sorely needed down the middle.
Reed Blankenship had the interception on Love after jumping a short go route.