The Green Bay Packers were too sloppy and missed too many chances in a 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Despite leading 6-0 at the end of the first quarter and 19-17 at halftime, the Packers were unable to finish the game off in the second half. The Eagles took control and held the game in the final stages.

Here are some key reasons why the Packers lost the season opener:

Red zone

The Packers went 1-for-4 in the red zone. Twice in the first quarter, the Packers settled for short field goals after getting the ball inside the 20-yard line on takeaways. Later, the Packers had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but the drive stalled at the 8-yard line and Matt LaFleur settled for another field goal. Only scoring 16 total points from four red zone trips is not nearly good enough. Penalties were crucial in killing the first two red zone opportunities. Speaking of which…

Punish

The Packers committed 10 penalties for 71 yards. A touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Jayden Reed was neutralized by offsetting penalties on the opening drive, and a false start on Zach Tom forced the Packers to punt on fourth down. A holding penalty on Rasheed Walker set up 1st-and-20 after Xavier McKinney’s interception. Tucker Kraft was assessed a holding penalty after a fumble recovery, and Romeo Doubs was assessed a flagrant offensive pass interference. On one drive in the third quarter, the Packers were assessed two illegal shifts. The decisive penalties came late and were questionable. Jaire Alexander was assessed a holding penalty, turning 3rd-and-12 into 1st-and-10, while Kenny Clark was assessed a holding penalty on a pass rush on third down — allowing the Eagles to march down the field and kick a field goal with 27 seconds left.

Takeaways in points

The Eagles turned their interception of Jordan Love into seven points. The Packers, meanwhile, turned three takeaways into just nine points. The Packers had a +2 advantage in turnovers and still lost. To their credit, the Eagles played great adversity defense after a pair of turnovers put the Packers inside the 20-yard line in the first quarter. What could have been a 14-0 lead became only 6-0. Winning the turnover battle is so often crucial to victory, but only if you can turn takeaways into game-changing points.

Lack of pressure

Jalen Hurts was sacked twice but only connected five times. Matt LaFleur sounded disappointed with his pass rush after Friday night’s loss. One of the defense’s sacks came on an impromptu rush by Keisean Nixon as Hurts tried to break the pocket. The other was a third-down sack by Rashan Gary. Too many critical downs gave Hurts time to throw the football out of the pocket. The Eagles averaged 8.2 yards per pass attempt and had four different players with receptions of 18 or more yards. Of the defensive linemen, only Gary’s quarterback had (two) hits on Hurts.

Lost points

The Packers missed a 43-yard field goal and had a two-point conversion from the 1-yard line stopped short. That’s five points. The Packers lost by five. Brayden Narveson made three field goals but saw his 43-yarder in the second half bounce off the right post, taking three points off the board. In the first half, Matt LaFleur went for two on an Eagles penalty on the extra point attempt, but Josh Jacobs was stopped short. Combine the lost points with the red zone failures and it’s amazing the Packers even scored 29 points.

Couldn’t contain Saquon Barkley

For the third consecutive game against the Packers, Barkley produced over 100 total yards and scored multiple touchdowns. On his first score, Barkley beat Isaiah McDuffie and made a fantastic catch in the end zone. Later, Quay Walker lost his gap and Barkley had an easy stroll to the end zone. His 2-yard touchdown run came four plays after Jordan Love’s interception. On the final play of the third quarter, Barkley ripped off a 34-yard run when Eric Wilson lost his gap. Overall, Barkley finished with 132 total yards and three scores.

Jaire Alexander vs. AJ Brown

Alexander had his hands full with Brown, who finished with five catches for 119 yards. The big play was a 67-yard touchdown in which Brown ran past Alexander, giving the Eagles the lead to start the second half. Brown also had a big catch on third down to extend Philadelphia’s first touchdown drive, and he beat Alexander on a catch-and-run for 20 yards to make it 3rd-and-8 on the Eagles’ next touchdown drive. Alexander eventually got an interception from Hurts in the scramble drill, but he lost his matchup against Brown.