3 important takeaways from Packers loss to Eagles in Week 1

For the first time ever, the NFL took to Brazil, where the Green Bay Packers squared off with the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paolo. Both teams played hard-fought but relatively sloppy games, but ultimately, the Eagles edged out the Packers 34-29.

It was a game littered with penalties, including 10 from the Packers and seven from the Eagles, and countless instances of players slipping on the Corinthians Arena grass.

Regardless, being Jordan Love's first game under a record-setting contract, Jeff Hafley's first impression as defensive coordinator, and a group of skill players with sky-high expectations, it was an important, tone-setting opener across the board.

For Hafley, in particular, he was dealt a tough hand to earn a positive first impression, going up against a Jalen Hurts-led offense that also includes AJ Brown, Saquon Barkley, Devonte Smith, and Dallas Goedert.

While expectations were more tamed for the defense, all eyes were on how the $220 million man and how the immense talent around the offense would show out.

Jordan Love struggles before a scary injury

Love carried under a 50% completion percentage for almost the entire game and finished 17/34 passing on the night with 260 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. It was an underwhelming showing in his first game on a record-setting contract despite a couple of touchdowns to Jayden Reed and Christian Watson.

Slipping was certainly an issue with the wide receivers, and drops were an even bigger concern, but for a normally poised and collected Love, he seemed to be forcing too many passes into double coverage or tight coverage. His second-half interception on a pass intended for Luke Musgrave was a prime example of Love trying to do too much.

The passing game and Love were both impacted by the Eagles allowing minimal run production and far too many penalties by the Packers. It wasn't until two minutes left in the third quarter that Jacobs produced his first explosive run (22 yards) of the game, so the Eagles were able to sit back in coverage and limit the Packers' passing attack.

For an Eagles defense that was regularly exploited last season, they shored up their secondary a bit, but still not to the extent that the Packers' pass offense should have been boxed up the way it was. Love's mechanics looked uncharacteristically sloppy, and he didn't seem to trust his protection.

Finishing 1-4 in the red zone and converting only 30% on third down solidified the offense's rough showing. Head coach Matt LaFleur reiterated this point in his post-game press conference, noting there were "a lot of opportunities we didn't capitalize on."

After a sloppy first game, the biggest concern now is Love's health. He went down with a possible ankle or knee injury on one of the game's final plays, forcing backup Malik Willis into action. Slow-motion showed a pop in his knee, so it could very well be tough sledding ahead if test results don't come back favorably.

Thankfully, Love put weight on the leg and walked slowly around on his own power, making it possible he avoided the worst. But it's realistic to expect he misses time.

Jeff Hafley's defense makes an underwhelming start

Overall, it wasn't a horrible first showing in Jeff Hafley's first game as the Packers defensive coordinator. However, it was also far from great.

Allowing 34 points is never a good look for a coordinator, especially with three Eagles turnovers, but more issues stemmed from individual lackluster play and missed tackles than scheme impairments. However, as Packers fans have endured all too often over the past decade, the defense was again gashed for well over 100 rushing yards (144).

Last season, the Packers allowed 127 rushing yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry, putting their Week 1 effort in line with previous woes in that department. However, their 3.8 yards per carry allowed was a noticeable improvement when you factor in an elite Eagles offensive line and Hurts being a weapon on the ground. In fact, Hurts’s 2.5 ypc on 13 carries last night would have been his third lowest in any games last season where he rushed at least 10 times.

Where individual play hindered an improved gameplan was star cornerback Jaire Alexander and the entire starting linebacker group did not look good for most of the ball game. Jaire made up for it with a clutch fourth-quarter interception in the end zone and just missing out on a second late in the fourth, but it was ultimately a tough showing for the former All-Pro.

Where the scheme impressed was in containing one of the most impactful running quarterbacks in the NFL in Hurts.

The Packers did not allow him to escape the pocket to create plays with his legs, and they applied fair pressure most of the night, forcing numerous throw-aways. However, the Packers struggled to produce sacks, with only two on the night despite some aggressive blitz packages.

Being a secondary-oriented coach, safeties Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard and cornerback Keisean Nixon seemed to benefit the most from Hafley's scheme. McKinney proved his $67 million contract worth every penny right away, fooling Hurts on the Eagles' first drive of the game to secure his first interception of the season.

The run defense was strong after one half of play, allowing only 14 yards to Hurts and 2.8 yards per carry in total. But like many times last season, the Packers allowed over 100 yards rushing, including two of Saquon Barkley's three touchdowns coming on the ground. Positively, Hurts didn't have a single rush for over 10 yards.

Maybe the biggest concern of the night was the Packers' inability to get off the field on the Eagles' final drive of the game to secure a victory. The drive lasted 15 plays and ate up almost the entire final seven minutes of the game before a field goal.

It doesn't get any easier next week with Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor, so the Packers will need to make an extreme effort to shore up tackling and linebackers appropriately filling gaps against another strong offensive line.

Jayden Reed is a star

Entering Week 1, no one knew who would lead the Packers' receiving corps. But very quickly, it turned into the Jayden Reed Show.

He had his first touchdown of the season called back from one of Green Bay's many penalties on the night, but he still managed to notch another two scores before the final bell.

Matt LaFleur exploited Reed's dynamic ability with the ball in his hands to secure his first score of the season on a 33-yard end-around rush before a 70-yard touchdown grab a few possessions later, where he snatched a soul on a juke move before walking into the endzone.

He amassed 171 total yards with his two touchdowns and was an outlier to an otherwise drop-filled night for the Packers wide receivers.

Reed was a clear favorite for Love in this effort and will see his number called a ton this season. There's a real chance he paces the Packers' receivers in total touches this season.

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