Sep 06, 2024
SAO PAULO — Saquon Barkley has been practicing the art of positive thinking since switching teams for the first time in his career. Yet he probably couldn’t have imagined making such a spectacular debut for the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley scored three touchdowns Friday night in the first NFL game in South America and led the Eagles to a 34-29 victory against the Green Bay Packers, who lost quarterback Jordan Love to an injury in the closing seconds. “I’m always about visualizing success and putting positivity in my mind,” said Barkley, who became the first player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens in 2004. “That’s one of my goals this year: Be more of a positive thinker.” Now it’s the Packers who will try to get negative thoughts out of their minds as they worry about the future of Love, who signed a four-year, $220 million extension this summer. Love limped off the field with assistance after getting injured with 6 seconds left. Packers coach Matt LaFleur had no update on Love’s condition after the game. The injury came just after Love had thrown a 33-yard completion to Jayden Reed to get the Packers near midfield. On the next play, Love faced major pressure from Jalen Carter and Josh Sweat as he threw a backward pass to Josh Jacobs. Carter was lying down and had a hold of Love’s left leg when Sweat pushed the quarterback to the ground. The Packers now anxiously await word on the severity of his injury. “We know what kind of guy he is, how he approaches everything,” wide receiver Christian Watson said. “Whatever it is, I know he’s going to get through it. We’re going to get through it.” Zack Baun sacked backup QB Malik Willis on the final play, preventing him from launching a Hail Mary from the Eagles 47. “We’ve got to learn from this,” LaFleur said. “Because, just watching the tape, and I’m not trying to take anything away from Philly — they battled and they played their game — but I think there was a lot of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize.” Barkley rushed for 109 yards and scored on an 18-yard catch and runs of 11 and 2 yards. He spent six seasons with the New York Giants before the Eagles signed him to a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million guaranteed. Jalen Hurts was 20 of 34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Eagles. A.J. Brown caught five passes for 119 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown, in a festive setting that Eagles coach Nick Sirianni compared to a playoff atmosphere. “Man, did Brazil get a great game tonight or what?” Sirianni said. “I know we converted some people to be big-time football fans tonight.” Packers receiver Jayden Reed scored on a 33-yard jet sweep and a 70-yard catch, which was the longest touchdown completion of Love’s career. Reed caught Love’s pass inside the Eagles 40 and made a move at around the 30 that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson sprawling. Reed became the first player to have a touchdown catch of 30-plus yards and a touchdown run of 30-plus yards in a season opener since Hall of Famer Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns against Washington in 1963. Reed also had an apparent 38-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive wiped out because both teams had 12 men on the field. He finished with four catches for 138 yards. Love went 17 of 34 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His emergence was the chief reason why the Packers entered the season believing they had legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. “That’s the franchise right there,” defensive lineman Kenny Clark said. “Hopefully, he can be back next week and he can be all right.” Barkley’s third touchdown put the Eagles ahead 31-26 with 4:26 left in the third quarter. Reed Blankenship set up that score with an interception that gave Philadelphia the ball at the Packers 25. The Eagles still led 31-26 when Jaire Alexander intercepted Hurts in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. The Packers drove into the red zone but settled for a 26-yard field goal by rookie Brayden Narveson, who went 3 for 4 on his attempts. The Eagles then controlled possession until Jake Elliott kicked a 21-yard field goal with 27 seconds left. Some Eagles players had expressed reluctance earlier this week about traveling to Brazil, which cost them the opportunity to play their season opener in front of a friendly crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. The crowd at NeoQuimica Arena instead was balanced among Packers fans, Eagles fans and spectators who just cheered any positive development. The Eagles weren’t complaining afterward. “I don’t know if Sao Paulo knows when to cheer, but it was great,” Brown said. “It was loud the entire time. They kind of got a bad rap. We got a whole bunch of ‘Don’t do’s,’ but it’s been great ever since we got here.” Players from both teams were slipping on the playing surface throughout the first half, prompting many to change their cleats. A Brazilian soccer league game was played in the stadium five days earlier. NeoQuimica Arena’s field is often praised by soccer players as Brazil’s best, but it had never hosted an American football game. The hybrid field includes grass and synthetic fiber. The slippery surface might have contributed to a sloppy start. The Eagles committed turnovers on each of its first two series, enabling the Packers to start back-to-back drives in the red zone, but they settled for field goals both times. “The red area was a huge problem tonight,” LaFleur said. “I would say a year ago, we were pretty damn good in that area. And we got destroyed in that area tonight.” The offenses took over in the second and third quarters. Six of seven possessions resulted in touchdowns.     . Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns in his debut for Philadelphia, leading the Eagles past the Green Bay Packers 34-29 on Friday night in the first NFL game in South America. Packers quarterback Jordan Love limped off the field with assistance after getting injured with six seconds left. Zack Baun sacked backup QB Malik Willis on the final play, preventing him from launching a Hail Mary from the Eagles 47. Barkley rushed for 109 yards and scored on an 18-yard catch and runs of 11 and 2 yards. Barkley spent six seasons with the New York Giants before signing with the Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million guaranteed. He became the first player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens in 2004. Jalen Hurts was 20 of 34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Eagles. A.J. Brown caught five passes for 119 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown. Packers receiver Jayden Reed scored on a 33-yard jet sweep and a 70-yard catch, which was the longest touchdown completion of Love’s career. Reed caught Love’s pass inside the Eagles 40 and made a move at around the 30 that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson sprawling. Reed became the first player to have a touchdown catch of 30-plus yards and a touchdown run of 30-plus yards in a season opener since Hall of Famer Jim Brown did it for the Cleveland Browns against Washington in 1963. Reed also had an apparent 38-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive wiped out because both teams had 12 men on the field. He finished with four catches for 138 yards. Love went 17 of 34 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Megargee reported from Wisconsin.
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