Starting their “home” season 4,700 miles from Lincoln Financial Field doesn’t seem to excite the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles will face the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday in the first NFL game in South America.
Cornerback Darius Slay said on his podcast that he “doesn’t want to go to Brazil,” though he later apologized. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith simply said, “No comment” when asked about it.
Part of that reluctance stems from security concerns. Packers cornerback Eric Stokes said he was told not to leave the hotel while in Brazil. Eagles receiver AJ Brown received a similar message.
“There was a whole bunch of, ‘Don’t do this,’” Brown said. “I’m just trying to go out there, win a football game and come home. That’s the best way to say it.”
But there’s also the fact that the Eagles are losing an opportunity to play in front of a friendly crowd in Philadelphia. The Eagles have been designated as the home team in Sao Paulo.
The Packers, for their part, hope they have learned lessons from their last international trip two years ago.
The Packers had won three of their first four games of the season, and head coach Matt LaFleur had made it clear he wasn’t looking forward to playing in London. His club lost two games to the New York Giants and extended its losing streak to five.
So the Packers didn’t complain about the trip. They believe the trip won’t result in a similar hangover because they’re not crossing as many time zones.
“At the end of the day, you’re preparing the formations and playing football,” Stokes said. “That’s all that really matters. Once the lights come on, everything else goes out the window.”
These two teams finished last season on diametrically opposed trajectories.
The Packers are looking to continue the momentum that has seen them reach the National Association’s division series as the youngest team in the league.
The Eagles started the season with a 10-1 record, but won only one more game the rest of the year, losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs.
This match in Brazil offers the Eagles the chance to put that collapse behind them.
“We’re not here to see the city and do all these other things,” Brown said. “This is not a vacation. There’s a football game. That’s it.”