Eagles beat Packers in first NFL game in Brazil

Sao Paulo. In its effort to extend its brand beyond the United States, the NFL made its debut in Brazil with an intense game in which the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 34-29.

The Brazilian public, the second largest international market for the NFL after Mexico, filled the more than 46,000 seats at the Neo Química Arena, home of the popular Corinthians soccer club.

While maintaining the spirit and iconography of any American football game, the NFL allowed some Brazilian tunes into its South American home.

A pursuit battery made up of members of the ‘Gaviões da Fiel’, the Corinthians fan group, set the mood for the teams’ exit onto the field, an act that reflected the South American energy. The excitement before the kick-off, however, was the responsibility of four Olympic medallists from Paris 2024: skater Rayssa Leal, judoka Beatriz Souza, beach volleyball player Duda Lisboa and gymnast Rebeca Andrade.

In addition, singer Anitta, one of the international stars of the moment, was in charge of keeping spirits high with a discreet halftime show.

The American league’s arrival in South America, where the Eagles were the home team, is part of an expansion strategy, through which the NFL will arrive in London in October, then visit Germany in November and even arrive in 2025 at the emblematic Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid.

Now in Sao Paulo, running back Saquon Barkley led the team to victory in the second game of the opening week by scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 109 yards.

Packers kicker Brayden Narveson kicked a 31-yard field goal off an interception by safety Xavier McKinney on a pass from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Hurts appeared to revive fears from last season, when he lost 20 balls, fourth most in the NFL, by allowing another recovery on the next series, capped by another 23-yard touchdown run by Narveson.

But he got even with two touchdown passes, 18 and 11 yards, to Barkley. Nick Sirianni’s star signing from the New York Giants turned the score around (14-12) five and a half minutes before halftime.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love, last season’s second-leading passer (32), bounced back in the game by executing a 70-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jayden Reed to give Green Bay (14-19) the lead.

At the start of the third quarter, Hurts scored another touchdown with a 67-yard pass, while Jake Elliot signed a field goal less than thirty yards away.