3 Packers to blame for wasted opportunity vs. Eagles in Brazil

The Green Bay Packers' night went from bad to worse when their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was capped by an injury to Jordan Love.

While the team and fans wait for news on the quarterback, no one can escape the fact that the Packers lost a game they easily could have won.

The Eagles aren't a juggernaut. The Packers let them get away with early mistakes and then never capitalized on opportunities to take back the lead. And there was plenty of blame to go around on that front.

3. Jordan Love

This was supposed to be Jordan Love's coming out party.

After his stellar second half of the 2023 season, expectations were that Love would continue on that trajectory. It didn't quite work out that way. He looked more like the raw prospect of early 2023 than the fully-realized QB1 of the second half.

Love went 16-for-33 for 227 yards. While he threw two touchdowns, he lofted an ill-advised throw into coverage for an interception and he was lucky not to throw at least one more. It wasn't an elite showing. It was a mixed bag.

The quarterback got unlucky a few times with receivers who slipped on the suspect turf. At the same time, he missed open receivers in costly spots as well.

Despite being gifted field position in Eagles territory twice in the first quarter, Love managed to generate just six points. He left points on the field and it hurt the Packers badly. A touchdown on either of those drives changes the game.

For now, the only reason to hit the panic button on Love is his injury status. He suffered an ankle injury in the final moments of the game. But more performances as inconsistent as this one will create some grumbling about that contract.

2. Wide receivers

I could single out Christian Watson, because his were the most egregious miscues on the night. However, it's more fair to highlight the entire receiving corps because they all seemed to be slipping and sliding on the turf and dropping balls.

Romeo Doubs dropped a first down. Christian Watson missed two touchdowns. Dontavious Wicks slipped and dropped a ball too.

Here's a few examples:

Listen, the turf was bad for everyone. Players were slipping all over the place. It wasn't just the Packers' receivers doing it. Theirs just turned out to be more costly.

The Eagles were playing on the same turf and didn't let it lose the game for them.

Green Bay chose not to invest heavily in the receiving corps this offseason, trusting the guys they've drafted to rise to the occasion for Love and the team. The first game proved they need to take it up a notch. Circumstances don't matter. How you respond to them does.

At least Jayden Reed had himself a game. Though he won't be able to rely on blown coverage touchdowns materializing for him every game.

1. Jeff Hafley

Welp. Jeff Hafley was supposed to come in and fix the Packers defense. One game in, he's already matched the most points allowed by Joe Barry's defense in 2023.

Sure, the Eagles have weapons. They're also breaking in a new center with a quarterback coming off a shaky 2023 season. It was Hafley's job to find a way to keep Philadelphia from getting their confidence back.

Early on it looked like he might have. The Eagles gifted the Packers two turnovers in their own territory. But holding a team scoreless in the first quarter is irrelevant if you go on to give up 17 points in the second quarter and 14 in the third.

At least the Packers only allowed three points in the fourth quarter, right? No! Those points capped a 16-play drive that spanned seven minutes and 25 seconds. The Eagles killed the clock for half of the most important quarter of the game, keeping Love and company off the field long enough to secure the victory.

Can anyone explain how Hafley's defense effectively differed from Barry's? It was the same story with a different man pulling the strings.

You win as a team and lose as a team. So everyone ultimately shares some of the blame. Still, let's be real. You can win plenty of games in the NFL scoring 29. You're not going to win many allowing 34.