Week 1 Eagles' Stock Market: The Packers Edition Turns Into The Saquon Show

A historic performance by Saquon Barkley and a stat-stuffing might from Zack Baun lifted the Eagles over the Packers.

Sep 6, 2024; Sao Paulo, BRA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Neo Quimica Arena. Mandatory / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It was an ugly start for the Eagles and a convincing finish resulting in a 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil during the first-ever NFL game in South America. Typical early-season NFL games tend to be sloppy and this one was no exception with the teams combining for 17 penalties and four turnovers.

Despite being responsible for three of those turnovers Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts showed off his relentless mentality during a 16-play, 67-yard drive that siphoned 7:25 of the 7:57 left in the game after Brayden Narveson's 26-yard field goal cut the Eagles' lead to 31-29.

Hurts, who threw two ugly interceptions and had two other turnover-worthy throws during the game, had three impactful scrambles on what was the game-sealing drive, as well as two strikes to DeVonta Smith that tore the heart from the overmatched Green Bay defense.

Here's the Week 1 stock market

THE BULLS

-The Saquon Show - John Mara's worst nightmare came to life with the former face of the New York Giants franchise turning into everything he was supposed to be with Big Blue only with their hated division rival, totaling 132 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

The hat trick included an 18-yard receiving TD on a wheel route in which the entire back seven of the Packers defense gravitated to A.J. Brown and Smith leaving Barkley to toy with linebacker Isaiah McDuffie.

Barkley also cashed in from 11 and 2 yards out on the ground for the hat trick, the most TDs by an Eagle in their debut since Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens had three on Sept. 12, 2004 against the Giants.

-LB Zack Baun - While Barkley will generate the headlines, the Eagles' best player on Friday night was linebacker Zack Baun, who filled up the box score like he was LeBron James.

Baun, a free-agent pickup from New Orleans, finished with 15 tackles -- including one for loss -- two sacks, and two quarterback hits while playing a hybrid role of weakside linebacker/edge defender.

Baun's role certainly looked similar to what defensive coordinator Vic Fangio did with Andrew Ginkel in Miami last season.

-WR A.J. Brown - The drought is over with Brown starting 2024 with a five-catch performance for 119 yards and a 67-yard touchdown where the All-Pro showed off his awe-inspiring combination of size, strength, and speed by fighting through the contact of Jaire Alexander and then outracing the speedy cornerback to the end zone.

It was Brown's 25th career 100-yard receiving game and the star receiver also eclipsed 6,000 career receiving yards in his 78th pro game, becoming just the 14th player in NFL history to reach 6,000 that quickly.

-Nick Sirianni's ability to start the engine - In his first game as head coach since stepping back from his role as the organization's offensive mastermind, Nick Sirianni improved to 4-0 in season openers and outperformed his Green Bay counterpart Matt LaFleur when it came to game management.

The Eagles are one of four NFL teams to win each of their kickoff weekend contests since 2021, joining Miami (3-0), New Orleans (3-0) and Tampa Bay (3-0). During that stretch, Philadelphia is the only club to accomplish the feat with the same head coach.

Sep 6, 2024; Sao Paulo, BRA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) scrambles during the first half against the Green Bay Packers at Neo Quimica Arena. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

THE BEARS

-The Field - The NFL should be ashamed of itself for putting the players on the pitch at Corinthians Arena but the international games are a money grab and no one will be all that concerned that both teams looked like they were on skates for much of the night.

-The Eagles' run defense - The Packers ran for 161 yards on just 21 carries, an alarming 7.8 yards per rush. More so, things got worse in the second half after a summer spent talking about the improved conditioning of Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.

-Third-down offense - The two teams somehow combined for the Big 12 numbers of 824 offensive yards and 63 points despite failing to extend drives consistently. The Eagles converted only 4-of-14 third downs (28.6%) and the Packers were even worse at 3-for-11 (27.3%).

STATIC STOCKS

-LB Nakobe Dean - Dean won the starting Mike LB job by excelling when playing downhill this summer and he showed flashes of that in Brazil. The pass coverage is still a work in progress, though, and Dean got caught with his eyes in the backfield on a 29-yard gain by Tucker Kraft and also dropped a potential pick-six from Jordan Love.

-QB Jalen Hurts - The four turnover-worthy throws were all bad decisions which is troubling but the fourth-year starter has a cornerback's mindset coupled with a rare relentlessness.

To use a Fangio term, the Eagles' quarterback is an all-day sucker and you need to play all 60 minutes to beat a Hurts-led team.

The best evidence for that is that the Eagles are now tied with the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs for the best record in the NFL since 2022 at 26-9 (.743 winning %).

MORE NFL: Saquon Barkley Lifts Eagles To Season-Opening, 34-29, Win Over Packers In Brazil