Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns in his Philadelphia debut and the Eagles opened the season with a back-and-forth 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Friday night in Sao Paulo.
Barkley rushed for 109 yards and two scores and added a touchdown catch in the first NFL game ever played in South America. Jalen Hurts completed 20 of 34 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and A.J. Brown had five catches for 119 yards and one TD.
Jordan Love and Jayden Reed powered the Packers in a game that featured seven lead changes. Love threw for 260 yards, two TDs and one pick on 17-of-34 passing. Reed had 171 yards from scrimmage with two scores. Josh Jacobs added 84 yards on 16 carries in his first game for Green Bay.
Trailing by five, the Packers took possession with 22 seconds left. Love got Green Bay to midfield with a 33-yard pass to Reed, but the QB had to be helped off the field on the following play with an apparent leg injury. Backup Malik Willis came on in relief but threw an incompletion and took a sack to end the game.
The Packers led 6-0 after the first quarter but left points on the table. The Eagles turned it over deep in their own end on their first two drives but limited Green Bay to two field goals by Brayden Narveson. The Packers also had an opening-drive TD catch by Reed nullified by a penalty.
The lead changed hands four times in the second quarter as Barkley and Reed both scored TDs rushing and receiving, the first time in NFL history two players did that in the same quarter.
After Hurts’ 18-yard pass to Barkley put the Eagles up 7-6, Reed’s 33-yard end-around scamper made it 12-7 for Green Bay.
Barkley’s 11-yard run gave Philadelphia a brief 14-12 edge with 5:34 left in the half. Just 23 seconds later, Love found a wide-open Reed for a career-long 70-yard touchdown pass and a 19-14 lead.
Jake Elliott’s 38-yard field goal on the final play of the half trimmed the Eagles’ deficit to 19-17.
Hurts and Brown hooked up for a 67-yard TD on the second snap of the second half as Philadelphia retook the lead at 24-19.
Love kept the seesaw going with a 2-yard TD toss to Christian Watson for a 26-24 advantage.
Barkley’s 2-yard TD run put Philadelphia back in front 31-26 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
A 26-yard field goal by Narveson pulled Green Bay to within 31-29 midway through the fourth quarter.
Elliott’s 21-yard field goal put Philadelphia ahead 34-29 and capped a clock-draining, 16-play drive with 27 seconds to go.
–Field Level Media
