At 8:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, Philadelphia Eagles football is officially back for the 2024 season.
Facing the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, what are some keys to victory?
Eagles Key One: Turn Opening-Drive Excitement Into Momentum
Fans have a lot of pent-up excitement when their team’s festivities finally begin, and the players do, too. While it’s not always the case, this can lead to some aggressive, intense football during opening drives—the Eagles will want to get off to a hot start.
One of the Eagles’ staples in recent memory has been their ability to get a lead early. Playing from behind, especially against a team that is more talented than you from the Packers’ perspective, is crushing. Philadelphia has the players to come back in any situation, but getting early leads was probably the biggest reason why they made the playoffs in 2023. Continuing that on Brazilian turf would be ideal.
Eagles Key Two: Be Creative; Experiment
The Eagles’ biggest problem last season was obvious to anyone: bland play-calling, particularly on offense. It’s almost a shock that they scored the seventh-most points in football, as they routinely lacked the creative spark they showed in 2022 and even in 2021. Offensive coordinator (OC) Kellen Moore is poised to take Philadelphia back to its roots.
Instead of throwing the ball 10 yards behind the first-down marker in a third-and-long situation to get better field position for a punt (which usually didn’t work anyway), maybe they show more aggressiveness. Actually, we can be confident that they will.
Moore led the Dallas Cowboys to the best offense in football in 2021, and he’s had good stints as an OC throughout his short career. The only times he’s had poor numbers were with the 2020 Cowboys and 2023 Los Angeles Chargers, but starting quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert missed chunks of time. And still, he averaged 19th place in points scored during those campaigns.
Moore has the expertise and talent to call the right plays. The Eagles’ “Brotherly Shove” has become a staple of their late-down, short-yardage offense—this type of innovation is what I am talking about. It doesn’t have to be overly complex, but the talent is prevalent here. Figuring out the next big strategy is exactly what can take the team to new heights.
The season is 17 games long—take the time to try new things and be bold, as you might thank yourself later for it.
Eagles Key Three: Use Your Weapons
It seems obvious but wasn’t always so apparent for the Eagles. Boasting, objectively, is the best offensive weapon in the sport, and it’s time to make use of it. With, give or take, eight top-10 players at their position out of 11 on the offense, there’s no excuse not to get the most out of this group.
Teams just don’t have the depth to guard both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith while simultaneously accounting for Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts. They are still fielding arguably the best offensive line in at least their own conference; not even a good Packers defense can deal with this.
If the Eagles can consistently put the ball in the hands of their top playmakers (which isn’t that hard, seeing as they’re everywhere), the team will be in a good spot. Their biggest strength is their talent gap over Green Bay—they’ll need to use it.
Eagles & Packers Injury Reports
According to the Packers’ Sept. 5 injury report, tight end Tucker Kraft and running backs Marshawn Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson are all questionable.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, linebacker Devin White and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers have already been ruled out for them.
This is a huge game for the Eagles. Starting the new season on the right foot could seriously set the tone for the rest of the way. If victorious in general, that’d be sweet against a top Packers team. But if they can look good in the process, not winning by a hair like they so often did last season, that’d be even better.
We’ll see what happens.
PHOTO: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
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