Philly Leader

The Eagles and Packers officially commenced their 2024 seasons in the first-ever NFL game played in South America on Friday night. The Eagles emerged victorious with a 34-29 win, starting their season at 1-0.

"It was great, it was loud the entire time, it's been great ever since we got here," said wide receiver A.J. Brown. "They've been treating us well and it was just great to see the city, so I'm glad that we got the opportunity to come down here and play."

In the first quarter, after a touchdown play was called back due to offsetting penalties, the Packers punted on their initial drive. Green Bay attempted a fourth-down conversion but ended up punting following a false start penalty. An interception by Xavier McKinney off Jalen Hurts' throw gave the Packers possession at the Eagles' 19-yard line. Despite this advantage, they settled for a 31-yard field goal from Brayden Narveson (Packers 3 – Eagles 0). Another turnover by Hurts led to another Narveson field goal (Packers 6 – Eagles 0).

The second quarter saw Jalen Hurts connect with Saquon Barkley for an 18-yard touchdown (Eagles 7 – Packers 6). The Packers responded with Jayden Reed's 33-yard rushing touchdown but failed on a two-point conversion attempt (Packers 12 – Eagles 7). Barkley then scored his second touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run (Eagles 14 – Packers 12). Jordan Love connected with Reed again for a career-longest 70-yard touchdown pass (Packers 19 – Eagles 14). The half concluded with Jake Elliott's field goal bringing the score closer (Packers 19 – Eagles 17).

Early in the third quarter, Hurts found Brown for a deep touchdown pass of 67 yards (Eagles 24 – Packers 19). The defense held strong initially but eventually allowed Christian Watson's two-yard slant touchdown after extending Green Bay's drive due to a roughing-the-passer penalty on Zack Baun (Packers 26 – Eagles 24). Reed Blankenship intercepted Love’s pass leading to another Barkley touchdown run from two yards out (Eagles 31 – Packers 26). Narveson's missed field goal kept Philadelphia ahead as Barkley closed out the quarter with a significant run.

In the fourth quarter, Hurts threw his second interception caught by Jaire Alexander in the end zone. Josh Jacobs’ significant rush followed by Reed’s reception brought Green Bay within scoring range again; Narveson’s field goal cut Philadelphia’s lead to two points (Eagles 31 – Packers 29). The Eagles managed to extend their lead through Elliott’s short field goal near game's end. With limited time left and no timeouts, Malik Willis replaced an injured Jordan Love but could not convert as Zack Baun secured victory for Philadelphia with a sack.

Key Stats:

Passing Leaders:

PHI: Jalen Hurts - completed 20/34 passes for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns

GB: Jordan Love - completed 17/34 passes for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns

Rushing Leaders:

PHI: Saquon Barkley - ran for 109 yards on 24 carries and scored 2 touchdowns

GB: Josh Jacobs - ran for 80 yards on 15 carries

Receiving Leaders:

PHI: A.J. Brown - caught five passes totaling 119 yards including one touchdown

GB: Jayden Reed - caught four passes totaling 138 yards including one touchdown

Tackle Leaders:

PHI: Zack Baun - recorded eleven tackles

GB: Quay Walker & Javon Bullard - each recorded seven tackles