SÃO PAULO — “It was sloppy,” DeVonta Smith said. And he wasn’t talking about caipirinha cocktails. He wasn’t talking about the field conditions on a soccer field in the first-ever NFL game in South America. No, the wide receiver was pointing out what was evident as the Philadelphia Eagles rolled out their revamped system under offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“It was sloppy,” Smith repeated. “But we responded well.”
And indeed they did. They are 1-0 after their 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Arena Corinthians; despite Cam Jurgens throwing the ball to Jalen Hurts when the quarterback wasn’t ready; despite Hurts twice forcing the ball into heavy coverage on passes that resulted in interceptions (one in the end zone); despite Jurgens and Hurts mishandling a last-minute “Brotherly Shove” snap that, instead of securing a sure victory, preceded a field goal that gave the Green Bay Packers one last chance at a potential comeback.
“We work through the problems,” said Jurgens, who took ownership of both fumbles. “When you can work things out and still win, it’s a good feeling.”
Saquon Barkley saved their pigskin. He jumped on that last fumbled snap. He accounted for three of Philadelphia’s four touchdowns. He recorded 109 yards on 24 carries and two scores, plus two catches, including an 18-yard touchdown on a well-timed wheel route. He made general manager Howie Roseman very happy when he set a franchise record for per-year spending on running backs by signing Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million contract in the offseason.
Saquon Damn Barkley#FlyEaglesFly photo.twitter.com/ZdXg8tLqB0
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 7, 2024
“He played a great game tonight,” Hurts said. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”
The Eagles haven’t fielded a weapon quite like Barkley since LeSean McCoy. As good as D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders were in Philadelphia’s backfield the last two seasons, neither running back had the stop-start speed or burst that Barkley carried far beyond the Packers defense with an 11-yard touchdown run and a 34-yard sprint into the open field.
Finally, he had blocking. Barkley, who averaged 1.35 yards before contact in six years with the New York Giants, according to TruMedia, said in training camp that he chose to sign with the Eagles in part because of Philadelphia’s formidable offensive line. There, on that 11-yard score, was a colossal gulf between Jurgens and right guard Mekhi Becton. Barkley made a sudden cut, and the Eagles suddenly led 14-12 with 5:38 left in the first half.
“They really did a good job setting everything up for me,” Barkley said. “I just try to stick to my rules. That’s what I’d like to share: sometimes I tend to want to do too much. And I don’t have to have that mentality, but I just let (the offensive line) do its job. And when it’s time to do extra things, I’m ready for that too.”
Speaking of “extra stuff,” Moore wasn’t limited in deploying the pre-snap motions that were part of his philosophy. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, whose 2023 system has been the NFL’s most stagnant, had said earlier this week that “nobody really knows what we’re going to do.” By my count, the Eagles used pre-snap motion on 47.3 percent of their plays against the Packers.
That included Dallas Goedert moving left on a swing pass that gave Goedert a 1-yard gain. That included Britain Covey switching from wide right to wide left and Hurts hitting Goedert for a 4-yard gain in the space that Covey once filled. That included AJ Brown quickly stepping from the slot to just past Goedert, matching Brown against Jaire Alexander. Brown’s double move — outside, inside — released him down the sideline. Hurts caught Brown in his stride and the receiver weaved past the Packers’ secondary for a 67-yard score.
Brown’s 23.8 yards per reception (five catches, 119 yards) were his highest average since Week 16 of the 2022 regular season. Hurts was able to find Brown in crucial third-down situations when he faced a tough rush. On third-and-8 on Philadelphia’s fourth drive (Barkley’s first rushing touchdown), Hurts rushed the ball to Brown for a 20-yard conversion just before he was demolished by a defender. Hurts was 6-of-7 passing for 91 yards and his 18-yard touchdown to Barkley while facing the Packers blitz, according to TruMedia.
It was a promising sign for a system in which Hurts handles more pre-snap protection calls and designations for when a receiver is “hot” against the blitz. Hurts was sacked twice. The second time, he appeared to draw himself just before halftime, limiting a promising two-minute drive to just a 38-yard Jake Elliott field goal and a 19-17 Packers deficit at the break.
“I thought the pass protection was pretty good today,” Jurgens said. “I thought we did a good job. We’ll watch the film, see what it was like. But it felt good out there. We’ve got some weapons on the outside. I think we really used them today and played really well.”
The Eagles’ defense was also sloppy.
Sirianni fired former defensive coordinator Sean Desai in part because his system gave up the NFL’s second-most passing yards in 2023. The Eagles thought they could improve the defense by hiring the system’s creator, Vic Fangio. But there were times when it wasn’t clear that anything had changed at all. Jordan Love, who completed 17 of 34 passes for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, took advantage of an apparent coverage error to hit Jayden Reed for a 70-yard touchdown to take their lead into halftime. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was acquired in free agency to improve the back end, missed a tackle that could have saved the score.
Apparently Gardner-Johnson was criticized by fans when he returned to the locker room.
“All these fans that have something to say. Y’all go out there and tackle with us. Put that in the news,” Garnder-Johnson said. He turned to his left and saw Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie. “Tell them, Jeffrey. Every fan says they can make a tackle, we’re going to take everybody that says we’re bad at tackling, we’re going to get them out there with AJ Brown and see if they can make an off—ing tackle. Everybody knows it’s not that easy.”
Lurie just laughed.
Reed Blankenship, red-faced but not disagreeing, continued his postgame interview. Yes, they had made some coverage mistakes, Blankenship said. Yes, they hadn’t just done “what we do in practice.” But when the Packers had a chance to go up by two scores in the third quarter, Blankenship stole Love’s throw down the seam for a game-changing interception. Blankenship said he saw Love make an appearance to throw to Reed on the sideline but turn back toward the middle of the field when Gardner-Johnson blocked that option.
Safety Reed Blankenship intercepted a throw from Jordan Love in the seam for a game-winning interception. (Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
“So, it was one of those anticipation moments,” Blankenship said. “But I couldn’t have done it if he hadn’t been doing his job in the background.”
It’s hard to tell right away where the breakdown occurred on Reed’s 70-yard score. The Eagles were playing dime, their six-defensive back package designated for passing scenarios like that third-and-10. Second-round rookie Cooper DeJean and veteran Avonte Maddox appeared to cover short zones in the slot. Gardner-Johnson was the deepest safety, but was caught off guard to say the least when Reed ran alone to the right hash.
“This is the toughest sport because it’s all 11 guys,” Gardner-Johnson said. “And when all 11 guys are not on the same page, things happen. It doesn’t mean you’re the (worst) player in the world. If that’s the case, the owner would have let you go. We have to understand that this game, we have to understand that as young guys, we’re just getting good. We play together and we understand that we can be dominant in every f—ing aspect of the game.”
Rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell proved to be a reliable starter in his professional debut. Love tested the No. 22 pick on a deep ball early in the first quarter, but Mitchell knocked the ball out of Christian Watson’s grasp. Later, Mitchell extended laterally to deflect another Love pass near the sticks.
Mitchell played entirely at outside cornerback, an interesting development given Fangio’s commitment during training camp to having the rookie play nickel. Mitchell had played outside cornerback in base packages but had switched to nickel during preseason games. But Maddox started in nickel against the Packers. The arrangement may be untenable. Maddox was targeted by Love on back-to-back plays, first drawing a pass interference and then a touchdown on the next play.
The absence of Isaiah Rodgers may have played a role. He was primarily the outside cornerback during training camp when Mitchell played nickel. Rodgers was ruled inactive with a hand injury. When asked if Rodgers’ absence played a role in the decision, Sirianni said, “That’s still a competitive advantage that we have, which I’ll keep to myself.” Maddox’s nickel fielding also raises the question of whether the Eagles had confidence that Kelee Ringo could fulfill the game plan at cornerback in nickel packages.
Sirianni, who has further embraced his role as CEO in 2024, has 10 days to clean up the mess before the Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16. The 43-year-old coach is now 4-0 in season openers.
“Excited to move on,” Sirianni said. “We’re going to have some tough conversations about what went right and what went wrong, but we’re happy with these guys and we’re going to be better from this game.”
(Top photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
