The 2024-25 NFL season kicked off in Brazil on September 6th with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Green Bay Packers, 34-29. The Eagles 1-0 start the season turned into a 2-2 record, as did the Packers. Green Bay now sits at 11-6, the number seven seed in the NFC. Philadelphia locked up the number two seed with their 14-3 record, having won 12 of their last 13 games. For the first time all season, the Packers are coming off of back-to-back losses.
Revisiting the Green Bay Packers Week 1 Loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
Fast Start
Offensively, Green Bay was not able to score any points on their first drive. Jalen Hurts and crew were ready to take the field for their first time, but it didn’t end well. The Eagles star quarterback threw an interception on just his second pass attempt of the season. Xavier McKinney secured the interception, starting a streak of five straight games with one to start the year. Even though the Packers were able to start on Philly’s 19-yard line, they only came away with three points. An offensive holding penalty set things back before Brayden Narveson nailed a 31-yard field goal. Narveson lasted just six games with the Packers this season.
With a 3-0 lead, Philadelphia’s second possession didn’t go any better. Both of their first two drives lasted in just three plays, this one ending in a fumble. It was one of two fumble recoveries for Devonte Wyatt this season. Now starting at the Eagles’ 13-yard line, Green Bay again settled for three. An offensive holding and offensive pass interference penalty prevented a Green Bay touchdown. Coach LaFleur opted not to go for it on 4th and goal from the 5, so Narveson converted on just a 23-yard field goal.
Scoring Frenzy
The Packers’ field goal sparked eight straight scoring drives for both teams. The Eagles put together an 11-play, 70-yard drive in less than six minutes to grab their first points of the season. Up 7-6, the Packers failed on a two-point conversion after their touchdown to take a five-point lead. Jayden Reed’s explosive 33-yard run resulted in the touchdown. Reed finished the season with just 163 rushing yards, having 70 of those come in the first two games of the season. This was his lone rushing touchdown of the year.
Saquon Barkley scored both of the Eagles’ first touchdowns. Barkley immediately made his presence known with the Eagles, starting with a rushing and receiving touchdown. Jayden Reed took note of Barkley’s touchdown as he hauled in a 70-yard reception to match him with two touchdowns on the day. Reed totaled his second-highest receiving yardage in this game on the year, finishing just one yard behind his season high.
Philadelphia put together a 15-play drive to end the first half but only came out of it with three points. Down 19-17 going into halftime, the scoring didn’t stop come the second half. Both teams traded touchdowns to start the second half, with the Eagles notably doing so on a 67-yard bomb to AJ Brown. With the Packers leading 26-24, the teams traded three punts before the Eagles took control.
No Looking Back for Philly
At their 12-yard line, Jordan Love threw his first interception of the year. Reed Blankenship’s interception was one of four for him throughout the year. It was followed by an easy touchdown for Barkley as he finished the game with a hat-trick. Philadelphia had a 31-26-point lead after this and held onto the lead for the rest of the way. Narveson’s struggles shined bright as he missed a 43-yard field goal, one that could’ve been a game-changer. Jalen Hurts wasn’t able to take advantage as Jaire Alexander grabbed one of his measly two interceptions this year. Green Bay made it to the Eagles’ eight-yard line, but again opted for a field goal and didn’t go for it on 4th down. Up 31-29, the Eagles stretched a 16-play drive into a field goal. Under a five-point deficit, Green Bay had just 27 seconds to grab a last-second touchdown.
No game summary can point out how poor the field conditions were in Brazil. Corinthians Arena was not up to par with an NFL stadium as players were slipping and sliding all over the field. The biggest note of this came on the final drive when Jordan Love went down with an injury. Packers’ fans were left wondering if Love was out for the season, or what the situation would be. With a losing record to start the season, things weren’t looking good for Green Bay.
The Rematch
128 days will have passed since the last time these two teams played. After they both started 2-2, Philadelphia put together an incredible winning streak and established themselves as one of the top teams in the league. Green Bay has shown signs of being able to compete with the best of them, but they were just 1-5 in the NFC North and stole the last seed in the playoffs. Now playing in Philadelphia, Green Bay knows the crowd will be a factor. The weather isn’t an adjustment whatsoever, with a projected high of just 38 degrees at kickoff.
Both teams love to run the ball, and both are dealing with quarterback injuries. Jalen Hurts hasn’t played in two weeks and is still dealing with the concussion protocol. Jordan Love exited near the end of the first half in the Chicago Bears game and has not practiced leading up to Sunday’s showdown. There are still so many questions to be answered heading into Sunday’s wild-card round, and those answers should be coming in the following days.
Main Photo: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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