Eagles vs. Packers, Week 1 live blog from São Paulo

SÃO PAULO — Corinthians Arena is packed. It’s certainly not a neutral crowd — this place is loud — but it’s definitely a split crowd. Eagles chants and Packers cheers are going back and forth. There’ a big-game buzz. The drum is playing. This is going to be fun.

Because I can’t live tweet, I’ll live blog. I’ll have updates on here throughout the game, so keep refreshing. The notes will be timestamped and there will be news and observations from the game.

FIRST QUARTER

15:00: The Eagles are kicking off, so Vic Fangio’s unit is on the field first. Also, an anti-climatic what the new kickoff. Braden Mann kicked it out of the end zone. (One problem: a problem on the play. Illegal formation from the Eagles. So apparently there was work to do.)

13:07: Eagles will keep Quinyon Mitchell on the outside. Avonte Maddox came in to play the slot on second down. Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun are the LBs. Cooper DeJean came on the field in dime.

11:46: Packers TD taken off the board with offsetting penalties. Both teams had 12 men n the field. Fortunate break for the Eagles — followed by impressive pass breakup by Quinyon Mitchell. That’s what Mitchell did all camp. The stage isn’t too big, and he’s sticky in coverage.

10:57: The Eagles open on offense the way they looked at the end of last season — with Jalen Hurts throwing the ball up under duress. That INT streak in training camp didn’t extend to the season. Misguided pass on third-and-long is picked off. Ugly start for offense.

8:26: Good hold from the defense keeping the Packers to a field goal, although they were aided by a holding penalty that pushed Green Bay back. Zack Baun looked quick on a first-down blitz and got home for a sack, except Jalen Carter was flagged for roughing.

Penalties have been a problem for both sides early. Eagles have two charged penalties, Packers have two charged penalties.

7:59: A fumble on the first kickoff return – Kenny Gainwell was the returner — that the Eagles recovered, but there have been issues on both kickoffs so far. Of note: The Eagles didn’t spend much time on kickoffs during the summer in practice, preferring to hide their plans and save the work for walkthroughs.

7:06: Two drives, two turnovers. A mistimed snap from Jurgens to Hurts, Packers recover. About as ugly as start as the Eagles have. They tried to keep offensive plans concealed throughout the summer, preferring the competitive advantage of mystery. But so far, they’re sloppy and out of sync.

3:01: Eagles are fortunate this game is 6-0. Defense has held the Packers to field goals in the red zone twice — they look longer and quicker than they did last year. (And penalties are helping.) Offense needs to show some type of life because they can’t keep counting on the defense to hold Jordan Love to three (on short fields). I wish I could get Vic Fangio’s thoughts right now!

SECOND QUARTER

12:38: And there it is: Saquon Barkley’s first big play in Philly. (Or Sao Paulo.) Impressive 18-yard catch along the side of the end zone — perfectly placed pass by Hurts — and Eagles take a 7-6 lead. Big-time response for the Eagles, who went 70 yards on 11 plays. (Of note: They missed a Brotherly Shove.) Cam Jurgens looked good on that drive, too.

10:16: The physical defense the Eagles wanted? Not on that drive. Packers rushed 4 times for 70 yards to score a TD. Eagles couldn’t contain, couldn’t tackle, and now they’re trailing again. (Eagles stopped GB on 2 to keep the score to 12-7.) The linebackers looked like a problem there.

9:33: Second consecutive drive the Eagles are mixing Johnny Wilson in on offense. TBD if it’s for his blocking or if he’ll get targeted. Asked Kellen Moore’s acclimation about Jahan Dotson earlier this week, and Moore said they’ll “him build that role as we go.”

9:26: Bad news for the Eagles: Jalen Hurts got crushed.
Good news for the Eagles: A blitz beater at work. A.J. Brown with a huge gain. Answers vs. blitz were a major emphasis this summer.

5:34: Touchdown, Saquon Barkley. He could have run to Guarulhos with all that space. An 11-yard run caps a nine-play, 70-yard drive. Barkley now has nine touches on 22 offensive plays.

5:11: A near-pick 6 dropped by Nakobe Dean. Two plays later, Jordan Love finds Jayden Reed (and C.J. Gardner-Johnson misses an open-field tackle) for a 70-yard touchdown. Eagles lost Reed in coverage. Explosive plays are killing the Eagles defense the past two drives. Nick Sirianni’s biggest stats are turnover differential and explosive play differential. Packers 19, Eagles 14.

0:00: Eagles had 1st-and-10 at the 14 with one timeout and 43 seconds.

The sequence?

• Hurts takes a sack.
• False start on Dallas Goedert.
• Hurts dumps the ball of to Dallas Goedert (not near sideline) for 5 yards.

Eagles forced to spike and settle for FG. Bad sequence for the QB, offense (and staff, for that matter).

Packers 19, Eagles 17 at halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

14:09: A.J. Brown being A.J. Brown. He beats Jaire Alexander for a 67-yard touchdown to give the Eagles the explosive play they craved. Was simply a star receiver making a big-time play, beating Alexander on a double move. Eagles with a huge answer to start the second half and take a 24-19 lead.

11:55: Packers answered right back. Two penalties cost the Eagles — unnecessary roughness on Zack Baun, pass interference on Avonte Maddox — gave the Packers 28 free yards. Add another explosive play — a 29-yard gain by Tucker Kraft — and it’s no wonder the Packers scored. The Eagles need to force the Packers to go on long drive. The explosive plays are killing them.Packers 26, Eagles 24.

6:08: Defense needed to make a big play at some point — it came with Reed Blankenship stepping in front of a Jordan Love pass to get the Eagles the ball back at the 24-yard line Blankenship’s first career interception came against Aaron Rodgers. He has another one against the Packers in Brazil.

4:26: Saquon Barkley gets his third touchdown of the night — on three consecutive carries. They’ll clearly feature him near the goal line this season. Eagles take a 31-26 lead, passing the 30-point plateau. And Blankenship’s interception was the key in getting the ball back.

2:51: Both Quinyon Mitchell and C.J. Gardner-Johnson came off the field with injuries just now. The Eagles now have Kelee Ringo and Tristan McCollum in the game.

0:17: The Eagles are still allowing big running plays, but they made stops when they needed to force a field goal — that the Packers missed. Score remains 31-26.

12:53: What a foolish play by Jalen Hurts. One play after surviving a near pick-six, he threw across his body on a third-and-13 from the 14-yard while nursing a five-point lead in field goal range. The pass was intercepted, and the Eagles were left with no points and the Packers had renewed life. Just poor situational awareness, poor throw, and the Eagles went from a likely eight-point lead to the Packers taking the ball back with a five-point deficit.

7:52: Once again, the defense does enough to keep the Packers out of the end zone. Green Bay settled for a field goal after bringing the ball inside the Eagles’ 10. If the Eagles win, the Packers’ 1 of 4 mark inside the red zone will be one of the big reasons.

2:15: Jalen Hurts has made questionable decisions this drive and this game, but a clutch 2nd-and-13 completion to DeVonta Smith might have clinched the game. Smith’s yards after catch gave him 16-yard gain, and the Eagles are at the 19-yard line with as fresh set of down and 2:15 on the clock. The Packers have two timeouts. The Eagles can finish with the ball.

2:00: Hurts to Smith for another first down, and that should be game. It helps to have 6, 11, and 26. Much work to do, but the Eagles will win.

0:27: Well, that didn’t go totally as planned. The Eagles fumbled a Brotherly Shove that Barkley recovered, but they didn’t score a touchdown and needed to kick a field goal with 27 seconds remaining to make it a 34-29 lead. Jordan Love will have 27 seconds and no timeouts.