Thoughts From the Green Bay Packers at the Philadelphia Eagles (9/6/2024)

Here are some of my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers' 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil last night. 

The Packers' fans are waiting on pins and needles this morning. Losing the game is one thing. Potentially losing your franchise quarterback to injury just one game into the season has the potential to be devastating. Jordan Love was clearly hurt and now it's just a matter of if it's something that is going to make him miss a game or two or the entire year.

The Packers went out of their way to lose this one. The penalties were both numerous and game changing. The defensive holds toward the end, for example, kept Eagles' drives alive while both teams having too many players on the field resulted in a touchdown being wiped off the board. In addition, Green Bay just had too many missed opportunities, including only getting nine points off of three takeaways despite having excellent field position on two of those.

It was more of the same from the defense. That side of the ball wasn't all bad. Two interceptions and a fumble recovery were refreshing to see from a unit that struggled to take the ball away last season. However, even with a new coordinator and scheme, the defense still can't seem to get off the field when it matters. That last Eagles drive was 16 plays and took 7:25 off the clock before they added to their lead with a field goal and was helped by the two beforementioned defensive holding calls.

The running back situation seems to be in good shape. It's mostly new faces back there with Aaron Jones now a Minnesota Viking and AJ Dillon out for the season with an injury. However, after a slow start, Josh Jacobs showed his playmaking ability and Emanuel Wilson averaged 14 yards per carry in relief. That will be exciting to watch, especially if the team needs to rely on the run more because of Love's injury.

I know this whole "who is the Packers' number one receiver" has been done to death. However, while Jayden Reed hasn't earned that designation yet, I think it's safe to say he's the frontrunner with 171 total yards receiving and rushing and two touchdowns. Had Love not gotten hurt with five seconds left, there's no doubt in my mind Reed would have been the guy he would look for on a Hail Mary attempt.