As both teams gear up for what could be a franchise-altering season, week one will signal just how highly oddsmakers should value these squads going forward.
The NFL heads to Brazil in a special Friday night game between the Green Bay Packers and the (technically home) Philadelphia Eagles set to follow the official kickoff of the season. The game will take place on September 6 from Sao Paulo, Brazil while the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs will open the season from Kansas City on September 5.
Regarding the Packers and Eagles, both teams are set to enter the 2024-2025 season with possible franchise-altering outcomes defining where each will head at the end of play next February. The Packers are coming off an NFC Divisional round loss to the eventual conference-winning San Francisco 49ers in a game the Packers could have easily been victorious. Green Bay was up 21-14 going into the fourth quarter, but allowed San Francisco to score 10 points in the final 15 minutes to finish the comeback and move on in the playoffs.
The Eagles, meanwhile, were upset by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card round after losing its division lead to the Cowboys late in the year and being forced to play in Florida. If one were to ask fans and experts of the league, many were not actually surprised by the outcome of the game, as Philadelphia had been showing clear deficiencies in the weeks leading up to its playoff matchup.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts was struggling to handle blitz packages and find players in the middle of the field despite an array of weapons that includes wide receivers AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. Many placed blame on the coaching staff as the Eagles moved on from both offensive and defensive coordinators, bringing in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio to handle the responsibilities of the respective positions.
If Philadelphia fails to bring Hurts back to the form that produced a Super Bowl appearance in 2022-2023, some decisions will have to be made regarding its $250m+ quarterback and head coach Nick Sirianni.
Green Bay will be looking at its own young quarterback, Jordan Love, to continue the ascension he displayed towards the end of last season and into the playoffs, including a 48-32 demolition of the Cowboys in Dallas during its Wild Card matchup.
Love will have a plethora of his own toys to use to his advantage this season, as the Packers feature a deep wide receiver core and signed running back Josh Jacobs in the offseason to help support its franchise cornerstone. The Eagles actually made a move at running back as well, bringing in Saquon Barkley from its rival New York Giants to help supplement the loss of center Jason Kelce, who retired in the offseason and controlled much of the Eagles rushing attack.
How the two squads will face off in Brazil, though, remains an interesting debate to solve for bettors and sportsbooks alike. The Eagles are two-and-a-half point favorites over Green Bay on FanDuel sportsbook and the moneyline shows Philadelphia with odds of -130 to win, while the Packers are currently listed at +110.
The Packers could use Love and his weapons to attack Philadelphia through the air, adding the effects of Jacobs to help build wear and tear on the Eagles defensive line. Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman attempted to cover the holes within his team’s secondary that also started to rear its head towards the end of 2023-2024. Cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry began to show their age, as the long careers of each had both looking like shells of their former selves in the final weeks of the regular season.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, Roseman selected defensive back Cooper DeJean and cornerback Quinyon Mitchell to add youth and athleticism at the position group heading into 2024-2025. The team also re-signed safety CJ Gardner-Johnson after he spent last season with Detroit, but was a member of the Eagles 2022 team that made a run to the Super Bowl.
Green Bay also displayed a weak defense last season but made additions in the offseason as well, signing safety Xavier McKinney, also from the Giants, and drafted fellow safety Javon Bullard out of Georgia in the Draft. While the two should help limit explosive plays against Green Bay, neither will be responsible for defending Brown or Smith on September 6, and as perhaps the most formidable wide receiver duo in the league, that will come as no easy challenge for Green Bay.
Trusting Love is something that has become simple, however, and that will most likely be the smart play for bettors prior to the game kicking off. Whether taking the Packers to cover or outright at +110 on FanDuel, the Eagles should need some time for Hurts to learn Moore’s system and for the defense to find itself when accounting the coaching change and rookie inexperience.
Love is also becoming one of the best young gunslingers in the NFL and is a popular pick amongst some to win the Most Valuable Player award this season. Bettors and analysts believe he can utilize his weapons and take advantage of being coached by one of the brightest offensive minds in football, Matt LaFleur.
The game in Brazil has created many fun and intriguing storylines for NFL fans to follow, as the league has recommended players stay in their hotels due to possible safety endangerment and the country has just banned the use of social media platform, X, so reporters won’t even be able to fully cover the game live. While this does come off somewhat frightening for those involved, the league continues to expand to new countries and desires the possibility of one day having an Internationally-based franchise.
Starting with the Packers and Eagles matchup in Brazil, the NFL grows its brand with each passing year and the 2024-2025 season is sure to only bring more attention and viewership, especially with exciting matchups such as this taking place.
