News/Commentary

NFL Preview - Packers vs. Eagles in Brazil

May 21, 2024 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

In the first part of our 2024 NFL Preview, we looked at the Ravens/Chiefs opening night matchup, revisited the 2023 playoffs, and listed the eight teams that have had the opportunity to three-peat as Super Bowl Champs but failed.

We also presented the Ravens and Chiefs' schedules, as well as the schedule of international NFL games.

SEE: Ravens Will Visit Chiefs To Open 2024 NFL Season

This week, we look at the second season opener which sends the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers to Sao Paolo for the first game in Brazil, and the first in South America. It will also be the first Friday night opening weekend game since 1970 when the St. Louis Cardinals and the LA Rams kicked off at 8 p.m. on the Pacific Coast. That was the first game after the AFL-NFL merger. This one will be streamed exclusively at 8 p.m. eastern time on the Peacock Network. Make sure to have your gear ready for an action-packed streaming experience. On such an account, Xfinity takes the edge through its high-speed but affordable internet plans, and responsive Xfinity customer service.

This will be the third Peacock-exclusive game. The first was the Bills and Chargers in a regular season game in December of 2023. The second was last season's Dolphins-Chiefs AFC Wild Card game in January which delivered the largest streaming audience in U.S. history.

The broadcast will also be available on NBC stations in the competing team cities, and available on mobile devices with NFL+.

Green Bay (established 1921) and Philadelphia (1933) are two of the NFL's oldest franchises. The Packers have won the most games (799), the most NFL championships (11, 1921-1965), and the fourth-most Super Bowls (4). Note that 2 of those 11 NFL championships came in the 1965 and 1966 seasons which were also the first two years of the AFL-NFL Championship (later named the Super Bowl in 1969).

The Eagles have the sixth-most wins (624), but have just 3 NFL championships and 1 Super Bowl title.

This year, the Packers have an over/under win total set at 9.5 while the Eagles are at 10.5.

Philadelphia has lost 13-year center Jason Kelce who spent his entire career in the City of Brotherly Love. He now moves into broadcasting as part of the ESPN Monday Night Football Countdown show. The Eagles also lose another Philly lifer in 12-year DT Fletcher Cox to retirement.

Gone is D'Andre Swift (Bears) who spent just one season with the Eagles and led the team in rushing with 1,083 yards, but he also had 3 fumbles lost. Other key departures include safety Kevin Byard (Bears), tackle Jake Driscoll (Dolphins), backup QB Marcus Mariota (Commanders) and linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Bills).

New to the Eagles roster are running back Saquon Barkley (NY Giants), linebacker Oren Burks (Green Bay), linebacker Zack Baun (New Orleans) and wide receiver Parris Campbell (Indianapolis).

Philadelphia happily welcomes back quarterback Jalen Hurts who must improve his TD-to-INT ratio after a 23 and 15 performance in 2023. He was one of just nine quarterbacks who started all 17 games a year ago.

The Eagles also return leading receivers AJ Brown (1,456 yards, 7 TD's), and DaVonta Smith (1,066 yards, 7 TD's).

Green Bay loses running back Aaron Jones (Minnesota), retains A.J. Dillon, and adds Josh Jacobs from the Raiders. All the top pass catchers are back, including Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.

Philadelphia Eagles

Home Games in Bold (Network, Approximate Kick-off Eastern Time)

9/6 (Fri.) vs. Green Bay (at Sao Paolo, Brazil)(Peacock, 8:15 p.m.)
9/16 (Mon.) Atlanta (ESPN, 8:15 p.m.)
9/22 at New Orleans(FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
9/29 at Tampa Bay (FOX, 1:00 pm.)
10/6 BYE
10/13 Cleveland (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
10/20 at NY Giants (FOX, 1:00 pm.)
10/27 at Cincinnati (CBS, 4:25 p.m.)
11/3 Jacksonville (NBC, 8:20 p.m.)
11/10 at Dallas(CBS, 4:25 p.m.)
11/14 (Thurs.) Washington (Prime Video, 8:15 p.m.)
11/24 at LA Rams (NBC, 8:20 p.m.)
121 at Baltimore (CBS, 4:25 p.m.)
11/8 Carolina (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
12/15 Pittsburgh (FOX, 4:25 p.m.)
12/22 at Washington (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
12/29 Dallas (FOX, 4:25 p.m.)
Week 18: NY Giants (Date, Time, Network TBD)

Green Bay Packers

Home Games in Bold (Network, Approximate Kick-off Eastern Time)

9/6 (Fri.) vs. Philadelphia (at Sao Paolo, Brazil)(Peacock, 8:15 p.m.)
9/15 Indianapolis (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
9/22 at Tennessee (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
9/29 Minnesota (CBS, 1:00 p.m.)
10/6 at LA Rams (CBS, 4:25 p.m.)
10/13 Arizona (FOX, 1 :00 p.m.)
10/20 Houston (CBS, 1:00 p.m.)
10/27 at Jacksonville (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
11/3 Detroit (FOX, 4:25 p.m.)
11/10 BYE
11/17 at Chicago (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
11/24 San Francisco (FOX, 4:25 p.m.)
11/28 (Thurs.) Miami (NBC, 8:20 p.m.)
12/5 (Thurs.) at Detroit (Prime Video, 8:15 p.m.)
12/15 at Seattle (NBC, 8:20 p.m.)
12/23 (Mon.) New Orleans (ESPN, 8:15 p.m.)
12/29 at Minnesota (FOX, 1:00 p.m.)
Week 18: Chicago (Date, Time, Network TBD)