Saquon Barkley had an historic night in his Philadelphia Eagles debut, scoring three touchdowns as the Eagles won the NFL’s first game in Brazil — a 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo. Barkley is the first player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens in 2004 — as they are the only two Eagles players to accomplish the feat since the merger.
Barkey finished with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown, the final one a 2-yard run to put the Eagles ahead for good. Barkley had an 18-yard receiving score for his first touchdown with the Eagles in the first half, along with an 11-yard rushing score. He finished with 132 yards from scrimmage and 109 rushing yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Barkley even recovered a fumble Jalen Hurts botched at the 1-yard line in the final minute to preserve the Eagles holding onto the ball.
Jayden Reed also had a huge night for the Packers. Reed had two scores in the first half, a 33-yard rushing touchdown and a 70-yard receiving touchdown that gave Green Bay the lead late in the second quarter (the Packers led 19-17 at halftime). He had three touches for 112 yards in the first half, scoring on two of them. Reed finished with 138 yards from scrimmage in the game.
Jalen Hurts had three giveaways in the game, including an interception in the red zone with the Eagles up 31-26 in the fourth quarter. The defense held Jordan Love and the Packers to a field goal to preserve the lead, as the Eagles held the ball for 7:25 to kick a field goal in the final minute.
Love went down with six seconds left with a gruesome injury, leaving the game and needing assistance to get up. Malik Willis played the final two plays, the final one being a Zack Baun sack. Baun had 15 tackles and two sacks on the night.
This was the first international game to open a season at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, the first NFL game ever played in Brazil, and it was as wild as expected. Takeaways to come, but be sure to follow our live blog below for a recap.
Barkley scoring three touchdowns and adding a dimension the Eagles missed last year. Barkley had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the game, also having a 34-yard run that capped the third quarter for Philadelphia.
On a night Jalen Hurts struggled with protecting the football, Barkley was there to pick up the slack. The Eagles couldn’t have asked for a better debut from their $12.5 million running back.
The Packers averaged 7.1 yards per play and had 414 yards of offense, but went just 1 of 4 in the red zone on the night. The Eagles had two giveaways early in the first quarter and the Packers started both drives inside the Eagles 20-yard line. Green Bay ended up with just six points as a result.
Green Bay also kicked a field goal in the fourth quarter when the Packers got to the Eagles 8-yard line. Jordan Love was 4 of 9 for 24 yards in the red zone with a touchdown, but missed several throws that cost the Packers points. The Packers also went 3 of 11 on third down. Situational football was not their strong suit.
Jalen Hurts threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown on the second play of the third quarter to give the Eagles a 24-19 lead. The Eagles trailed by two at halftime but got the ball back to start the second half. Hurts threw the ball right to Brown in the bucket and Brown did the rest to get into the end zone.
Brown finished with five catches for 119 yards, 78 of which came in the second half. he snapped a six-game scoreless streak dating back to last season.
Play of the game
Barkley’s first touchdown with the Eagles was a sight to behold. Jalen Hurts got Barkley up against a linebacker and threw a pass right to the running back in the end zone to give Philadelphia a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. Barkley caught the 18-yard pass to set the stage for his historic night. He finished with 132 yards from scrimmage and three scores.
“He played really well. He should have had four touchdowns and I told him.” — A.J. Brown on Saquon Barkley’s night. The Eagles didn’t give Barkley the ball in the final minute for the game-sealing touchdown, opting for the “Tush Push” which resulted in a Jalen Hurts fumble. Barkley ended up recovering the ball.
The Eagles (1-0) have 10 days off before hosting the Falcons on “Monday Night Football” on Monday, September 16. The Packers (0-1) host the Colts on Sunday, September 15, so they’ll get nine days off.