The Philadelphia Eagles began their season without Jason Kelce with a win thanks to Saquon Barkley’s three touchdowns in a remarkable debut for his hometown team.
For the first time in 13 seasons, Kelce was not under center for the Eagles. Although there were some early issues on the offensive line, they managed to pull off a 34-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
In a major scare for the Packers, franchise quarterback Jordan Love limped off with six seconds left due to a lower leg injury.
Fueled by Barkley’s two rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown, Nick Sirianni’s team bore little resemblance to the team that slumped noticeably down the stretch last season.
AJ Brown also scored on a historic night for the NFL as the league played its first game in the southern hemisphere.
Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns as the Eagles beat the Packers in Brazil on Friday
Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered a worrisome lower leg injury with six seconds left in the game.
Barkley scored his first touchdown since joining from the New York Giants with a terrific catch.
Barkley then showed off his devastating running ability, tearing through the Packers defense.
It was a big win for Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, whose team inexplicably collapsed last year.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love failed to inspire his team to victory in Sao Paulo
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Eagles. During the first quarter, fans flooded Kelce’s social media, begging him to come out of retirement.
This came after Cam Jurgens, who moved along the offensive line from guard to center to replace Kelce, threw the ball to quarterback Jalen Hurts too quickly.
Hurts was not prepared for the ball, which bounced off his body and came loose, allowing the Packers defense to pounce on him and lose it.
Kelce, who was watching the game from home, was immediately bombarded with messages from fans begging him to come out of retirement after the play.
One fan wrote: ‘The Eagles are about to pay Jason Kelce a billion dollars to come back.’
Another commented: ‘That’s it. @JasonKelce needs to put his jersey back on and get out on the field.’
“If I were the Eagles I’d call Kylie (Kelce) and ask permission for @JasonKelce to get back on the field,” a third posted.
Another added: ‘Uhh, maybe the Eagles should give Jason Kelce a call to see if he wants to come back.’
Kelce took to X to express his support for Jurgens after a play, writing, “Cam Jurgens! Shooting center! Love it.”
Cam Jurgens, who moved from guard to center to replace Kelce, made a big mistake
Kelce took to X to express his support for Jurgens after a play while watching from home.
Earlier in the evening, Eagles players were loudly booed as they entered the field in Brazil following the controversy surrounding cornerback Darius Slay.
Slay was forced to apologise earlier this week after claiming he did not want to travel to Brazil to play amid fears over the country’s “high crime rate”.
He also criticized NFL bosses for sending the Eagles and Packers to the South American nation, before eventually backtracking and calling it a “beautiful country.”
Despite Slay’s apology, fans inside Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians showed their anger by booing the Eagles players as they came out for pre-game warm-ups.
Brazilian fans have clearly not forgotten his comments, which could create a hostile atmosphere throughout Friday’s match.
We will continue to report more.