While dropping the season opener to the Philadelphia Eagles was not the ideal start for Green Bay, learning that the team may be without Jordan Love for the next six games may be worse.
Down five points and marching down the field, Love was hit high and low before falling to the ground in pain with an apparent leg injury. Upon returning to Wisconsin, Love was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee. That is expected to sideline Love for three to six weeks.
With Love out of the game, it was backup quarterback Malik Willis who finished the game for the Packers. On Willis’ first play in the game, he threw an incomplete intended for Romeo Doubs. With one second left in the game, Willis stepped up in the pocket, moved to his left and was sacked by Eagles Linebacker and Wisconsin Badgers alum Zack Baun to end the game.
After opening the game by being forced to punt, Green Bay immediately got the ball back, with defensive back Xavier McKinney intercepting Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and bringing it back to Philadelphia’s 19-yard line. Following the interception, Green Bay was forced to settle for a field goal.
On Philadelphia’s ensuing possession, it turned the ball over again deep in its own territory after Hurts fumbled the snap. Green Bay’s offense once again stalled in the red zone, as two penalties forced the team to settle for another field goal.
That would not be the last time that penalties hindered Green Bay in this game, as it finished with 10 penalties for 71 yards, with many coming in crucial spots.
“It felt like every time offensively we had a drive stopping penalty and we overcame some of those, but there was a lot of penalties,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
After Green Bay’s second field goal in as many red zone appearances, Philadelphia’s offense started to click. On the back of its quartet of stars, Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley and receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles quickly marched to the Packers 18-yard line. From there, Hurts dropped back and threw a high-arcing pass to the left side of the field to Barkley who finished the drive with a touchdown.
Similar to the Eagles’ offense, it looked like Green Bay needed a few drives to get into high gear. To answer the Eagles’ touchdown, Packers backup running back Emanuel Wilson sparked the offense with 37 rushing yards on three plays. Those rushes were capped off by a sweep to receiver Jayden Reed, who took the rush 33 yards for a touchdown.
The offenses continued to click in the second quarter, as Philadelphia - on the back of Barkley and Hurts running the ball - marched down the field with relative ease. Making its way down to the Packers 11-yard-line, Barkley powered in for a touchdown, good for his second touchdown of the day. That touchdown was instantly neutralized, as Love connected with Reed for a 70-yard touchdown three plays later.
The Eagles added a field goal before halftime to cut Green Bay’s lead to 19-17.
Opening the second half, Philadelphia immediately started hot, as Hurts connected with Brown for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Green Bay did not shy away though, as it once again matched Philadelphia’s touchdown with one of its own. This time, it was receiver Christian Watson who reeled in a two-yard touchdown from Love. That touchdown came after a roughing the passer penalty, a 29-yard completion to tight end Tucker Kraft and a defensive pass interference call.
From there, both offenses stalled as the teams traded punts on the next three possessions of the game. Philadelphia broke the lull though, as defensive back Reed Blankenship intercepted Love at the Packers’ 25-yard line. The Eagles immediately capitalized on the interception with a two-yard rushing touchdown from Barkley, good for his third of the day.
More than just his third touchdown of the game, Barkley became the first player to score three touchdowns in their first appearance with Philadelphia since Terrell Owens.
Down 31-26, a persistent problem for Green Bay reared its ugly head once again, as after an eight-yard drive, rookie kicker Brayden Narveson was primed for a 43-yard field goal. The kick sailed right and hit the upright, bouncing to the turf no good.
Looking to put the game away, the Eagles continued to ride Barkley and Brown, who combined for 45 yards on the drive. At the Packers 14-yard line, Hurts dropped back and threw a pass to the middle of the end zone. The pass was intercepted by Packers defensive back Jaire Alexander, giving the Packers the turnover that it desperately needed.
Green Bay once again failed to score a touchdown after a turnover, as it was forced to settle for its third field goal of the game to cut its deficit to two.
“We didn’t capitalize on those opportunities,” said LaFleur. “To come away with nine points off of three turnovers is not good enough. It’s not going to get it done.”
The Eagles responded with a 16-play drive that lasted seven minutes and 25 seconds, ending with a field goal to go back up five, before Green Bay’s late game push ended with Love’s injury.
In what could be a playoff matchup in January, it is hard to say that the NFL’s first game in Brazil was a success. The field looked like it was unprepared, resulting in numerous players slipping and a few players leaving with injuries. On top of that, one of the NFL’s premier teams lost its franchise quarterback in the game.
Categories
