We made it, fellow Cheeseheads. The Green Bay Packers regular season finally kicks off tonight in Sao Paulo, Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles. Admittedly, back in early July when this game was announced, I was a little annoyed that the season opener of all games would be played in Brazil on a Friday night. But after thinking about it, it's practically a perfect scenario. Both teams are coming off the Bye week following the ending of the Preseason and Training Camp, they traveled to Sao Paulo on Wednesday, practiced Thursday, and now they'll play the game tonight and be on the plane and home tomorrow. They'll have Sunday off, and then begin a normal NFL week for week 2 starting on Monday. I think all international games should be scheduled in this way to reduce jetlag and disturbed preparation. 

Kickoff is slated for 7:15 pm CST tonight at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo. It will be the first-ever NFL game held on the South American continent where roughly 49,205 NFL fans will have the chance to witness history. Corinthians Arena is a bit smaller than an NFL stadium, to give you a comparison, the smallest NFL stadium currently belongs to our rivals the Chicago Bears with a capacity of only 61,500. That's much smaller than Lambeau Field with around 81,441. So, at capacity, it will be a bit smaller than your average NFL crowd, but I'd anticipate it will be a great atmosphere with hopefully Packers fans dominating the population despite it being labeled an Eagles home game.

This will mark the third time the two teams have met in the regular season in the last five seasons. The last time came on November 27th, 2022 when the Packers were defeated at Lincoln Financial Field 40-33. This game was famous for Aaron Rodgers having to exit the game in the third quarter due to injured ribs. Jordan Love ended up taking over on the ensuing drive and threw a 63-yard touchdown to Christian Watson.  This brought the Packers to within a touchdown but they just couldn't close the gap as the two teams traded field goals to finish out the scoring.

The Packers had an interesting bout of roster shake-ups heading into the regular season releasing both training camp kickers Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph after claiming new kicker Brayden Narveson off waivers from the Titans. They also released both Quarterbacks, Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt after trading a 7th-round pick to Tennessee for QB Malik Willis. Clifford rejoined the team on the practice squad, but Pratt was not brought back and has since joined the practice squad of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I wouldn't be surprised, however, to see Sean Clifford elevated from the practice squad for tonight's game or even future games until Malik Willis has a firm grasp of the playbook. Let's get into what else we may see tonight. 

What to see on Offense

Probably the biggest question regarding Packers' offensive personnel this week was "Who's starting at right guard?" With Jordan Morgan appearing healthy again, would he take back the job from Sean Rhyan? Well, if yesterday's practice was any indication, it seems like Sean Rhyan will start at the RG position as he took reps with the Packers' first team. I wouldn't be surprised, however, to see a situational rotation of him and Jordan Morgan to get Morgan some snaps and see how he looks. 

The Eagles have a new defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio, but philosophically, their defense may be the same style as they've had before under Sean Desai and even Jonathon Gannon. They run a split safety and emphasize limiting explosive plays. I'd anticipate some blitzes but nothing too drastic, likely LBs swapping with DL to come in on a blitz with the lineman falling into coverage. So, that could work to the Packers' advantage in the passing game, but the Eagles' defensive line is still very disruptive in its own right.

The retirement of Fletcher Cox leaves a void on the defensive line for Philly, and Jordan Davis who is slated to replace Cox has been hit or miss on filling the void. The Packers may do well testing him to see how he handles his first full-time action, but that will be mainly because testing the other side with Jalen Carter could yield poor results. 

Jalen Carter is an absolute game-wrecker on the inside of the defensive line. I would guess the Eagles will mostly line him up against Sean Rhyan or Jordan Morgan to increase their big-play chances as otherwise Elgton Jenkins may be able to limit him. I could see the Packers looking to tire him out with a fast-tempo offense to get him off the field on substitution or at least slow him down. I'd also anticipate a fair amount of RB screens or WR bubble screens to get the ball out quickly and take Jalen Carter out of the game. 

The Packers receivers could have a big day against this Eagles secondary. Philly's top cornerback Darius Slay mentioned on his podcast in the offseason that the last time the Packers and Eagles met, he had to hold Watson as he could not match Watson's speed. With Slay mainly occupying the right cornerback position, I wouldn't doubt Matt LaFleur will use Slay's words against him a few times pinning him up against Watson to see how it shakes out. After Slay, the Eagles have Quinyon Mitchell, Kelee Ringo, and Isaiah Rodgers who could line up on the left, with Avonte Maddox in the slot. Nobody has stood out taking those positions as a lock, so against a Packers receiving corp where you never know which one could take over a game having four legitimate threats, we may see some success testing those corners.

Packer fans' draft darling Cooper DeJean could get some action in Dime situations but due to his missed time from injury, any action could be few and far between. Instead at safety, they'll mainly see CJ Gardner-Johnson who will be looking to return to form from the first time he played with Philly. He'll be looking to assist the corners who will have their hands full with the Packers receiving corp and tight ends. 

I think the Eagles linebackers will be a weakness for them. Free agent acquisition Devin White will be OUT tonight due to injury leaving Nakobe Dean and Zach Baun taking the majority of the snaps. In training camp, this was an unknown spot as the linebackers were constantly swapping out. Whether or not that makes any difference will remain to be seen, but it could spell good news for the Packers' tight ends and also Josh Jacobs if he gets passed the defensive line and into the secondary. 

The strength of the Eagles defensive line will be the biggest test for the Packers whether or not the offensive line can limit their playmaking abilities. If they can, we could see a good amount of success for the passing game this evening.  

Of course, many eyes will be on the Packers debut of running back Josh Jacobs. With Emanuel Wilson and Marshawn Lloyd questionable, it stands to reason that Jacobs could so a big role tonight. Of course, with the rush, he will have to get by the Eagles defensive line which could be tricky, but if he does, I like the chances of the big bruiser that is Josh Jacobs against a questionable Eagles linebacking group. But it won't only be the run. I'm anticipating Jacobs to be featured often in the passing game whether it be a screen, a wheel route, or even a route into the secondary. It was a topic of discussion ever since his signing that Jacobs has never caught a touchdown pass. Well, I think on the Packers that will change. How soon? Maybe it will be tonight. But Jacobs will be a go-to tonight to wear down that defensive line perhaps and test the linebackers. 

What to See on Defense

It will be the debut of Jeff Hafley as the new Packers' defensive coordinator, and much like their defense, the Eagles offense has a new coordinator in Kellen Moore. Moore is expected to be the play-caller over Head Coach Nick Sirianni, but the offense will likely be a mix of Moore and Sirianni's philosophies. So, it will be new coordinator vs new coordinator when the Eagles have the ball. 

Last season, the Eagles hit a wall after starting the season 10-1 and finishing 1-6 before getting bounced out of the playoffs decisively by Tampa Bay. One of the main culprits was the offense's inability to pick up blitzes. Jalen Hurts was left running for his life and the offense had a hard time putting anything together. The retirement of All-Pro Center Jason Kelce will make fixing this issue a little more difficult, but Kelce's replacement, Cam Jurgens is said to be up to the task. The Eagles have been emphasizing blitz pickup in training camp, but look for Jeff Hafley to test that out tonight. Hafley wants to be aggressive, so I'd expect nothing less than a ton of blitzing on an offense that struggled mightily against the blitz a season ago. We may see a lot from Quay Walker and perhaps even rookie Evan Williams coming in on blitz. 

The Eagles signed running back Saquon Barkley in the offseason to hopefully bolster their running game. Mixing him with Kellen Moore was an interesting occurrence as Moore's running game in Los Angeles with the Chargers was just not good. That's likely why the offensive line coach, Jeff Stoutland is instead the running game coordinator. The Eagles line has been good in getting a running game past the line of scrimmage but what happens then is where it would hit a wall. Saquon Barkley is very good at creating yards after contact so the Packers will need to work on containing Barkley early to limit those big runs. Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton will be very important pieces in the effort to stop Barkley at the line tonight and limit him getting into the backfield.

The Eagle's wide receivers are also a very talented group. AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and the newly brought-in Jahan Dotson will pose a threat to the Packers' secondary. Any Quarterback would be wise not to test Jaire Alexander but I'd look for Jalen Hurts to test Eric Stokes early to see how he fares after essentially missing the majority of two straight seasons with injuries. Xavier McKinney will likely spend a lot of time shadowing some of those receivers to assist when needed, and he knows a thing or two about playing Jalen Hurts after facing him twice a year in New York and intercepting him three times. Hopefully, he will get his fourth or more tonight in his Packers debut. The rookies Javon Bullard and Evan Williams will be fun to watch in how they're utilized against this Philly offense. I could see Bullard playing alongside X and occasionally even getting some time in the slot. Evan Williams, if I were Jeff Hafley, I'd have him out there as a speedy extra linebacker playing up close to try and limit any rushing attempts by Jalen Hurts as well as assist in stopping the short game.  

The Linebackers for the Packers haven't been talked about a lot outside of the rookies Edgerrin Cooper and Ty'Ron Hopper and how they're progressing. But Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie will be all over the field tonight. Jeff Hafley's aggressive philosophy should open up opportunities for Quay Walker to show why he was a first-round pick, aside from just racking up tackles. I was over the moon with the Anthony Campanile hiring as linebackers coach as his intensity could match that of former Packers' linebackers coach Kevin Green. I would love nothing more than to see Quay Walker become a premiere linebacker in the league.

Extra Notes

We have a new kicker in Brayden Narveson. I don't think I've ever seen the Packers enter the regular season with a kicker who never played on Lambeau Field until this year. But Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph didn't cut it, so the Packers picked up Narveson on waivers from the Titans. He nailed all of his kicks in practice earning the vocal approval of Jaire Alexander so hopefully, the Packers have found their guy to ensure kicking isn't an issue this season.  

The Packers turned some heads on the roster cut-down day when they let Anthony Johnson Jr. loose in favor of special teams ace, Zayne Anderson. Nothing against Zayne Anderson but what essentially transpired was, the Packers let go of a safety that many thought could fight for the starting job, in favor of a guy that was the butt of jokes wondering if he was even a real person. Hopefully, Anderson makes some big special teams plays to prove us all wrong in questioning the decision. 

In the End

Tonight is sure to be a big test for this team in whether or not they're ready to compete with some of the top teams. Granted Philadelphia had a rough end to their 2023 season, they're still considered one of the top teams in the league. A decisive win will raise expectations to high levels for the Packers and a close loss won't exactly do a lot of damage to their predictions. A tough loss, and for some, the sky might be falling. All I'll say is, the Packers want to get out to a fast start this season better than last year. A big win over the Eagles will help boost the team morale a lot heading into week 2, where they will need to keep the momentum going. I anticipate a close game tonight and hopefully, our Green Bay Packers will send the South American fans home with smiles on their faces picking up their first win of the season. Go Pack Go.