- WHERE: Arena Corinthians (São Paulo, Brazil)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | Peacock
The Eagles and Packers will meet in the first NFL regular-season game ever to be played in South America -- a contest sure to have plenty of fireworks lighting up the sky in São Paulo. It also marks the first time in 50 years that a game will be played on Friday night during Week 1 of the NFL season.
The Packers enter the contest with history on their side, having won the most kickoff weekend games (59) in NFL lore, while Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is one of three active coaches with a perfect record (3-0) in Week 1. Last season, Philadelphia and Green Bay both made the postseason as wild-card teams, with the Eagles losing to the Buccaneers on Super Wild Card Weekend and the Packers upsetting the Cowboys on the road before barely falling to the 49ers in the Divisional Round.
Here are three things to watch for when Green Bay faces Philadelphia on the other side of the equator:
1) The crowd. Expect it to be loud. The Brazilian torcida, an organized group of fans, is famous worldwide for bringing colorful and joyful personalities to every sporting event, and this will be no exception. There will be many Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking fans from across the continent -- hailing from Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru, among other countries -- seizing the opportunity to watch American football on Friday night. And with a wide variety of media members in attendance, expect to get a first-hand experience of the game on Mundo NFL, the league's official Spanish site.
2) How will the Eagles look in 2024? An Eagles offense that ranked seventh in scoring in 2023 is looking to forget the late-season slump that ultimately led to the team's early playoff exit. The biggest loss from last year's unit is undoubtedly center Jason Kelce, a team leader who was an integral part of the prolific "Tush Push" (or "Brotherly Shove") play, but Philadelphia still boasts plenty of talent at the skill positions. At the center of new coordinator Kellen Moore's offense: Jalen Hurts, who's looking to rebound after posting the fourth-most giveaways last season (20) and finishing outside the top 10 in passing yards (3,858) and passing touchdowns (23). He's flanked by the dynamic receiving duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith -- one of just three teammate tandems to each post 1,000 receiving yards last season -- newly acquired WR Jahan Dotson, tight end Dallas Goedert and running back Saquon Barkley. This unit looks good on paper but needs stronger support from a defense that ranked near the bottom in 2023, allowing more than 25 points per game (30th in the league).
3) Will Jordan Love continue his trajectory as a rising star? In his first season as the full-time starter in Green Bay, Love developed a strong connection with a young pass-catching group headlined by Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs, as he threw for more than 4,000 yards and the second-most passing TDs (32) in the NFL in 2023. The offense should be more balanced (Green Bay had the 15th-ranked rushing attack last year) with the arrival of running back Josh Jacobs, who is one season removed from his elite 2022 campaign that saw him post league bests in rushing (1,653) and scrimmage yards (2,053). The Packers' offense looks promising with head coach Mike LaFleur and Love, who recently received a big payday, once again leading the charge. A solid showing in Brazil could help Love begin this season with a bang as he aims to solidify himself as a top-tier quarterback.
