SAO PAOLO, BRASIL – Deep in the heart of southeastern Brazil, two NFL Super Bowl contenders in the form of the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, meet Friday evening down in Sao Paolo.
Corinthians Arena, home of Brazilian Serie A club, Corinthians, is no stranger to hosting big matches, since being built for the 2014 World Cup, and also a venue for the 2016 Olympics, hopes to add NFL football to it’s already impressive resume.
Aside from the color ban of green, both teams being away from home deep in South America and the jungle-like heat, here are three things to watch for from Sao Paolo.
1.) Jordan Love in his era: One full season under his belt after leading the Packers to the Divisional Round, this is now the Jordan Love’s Packers, and after passing for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and completing 64.2 percent of his passes, it’ll be real interesting to see what the former 26th overall pick out of Utah State, and one-time Aaron Rodgers understudy does in Year 2.
2.) Will the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Hurts drama boil over?: Thanks to the losses of Shane Steichen to the Indianapolis Colts and center Jason Kelce to the booth, the Eagles are going to be a vastly different offense under new coordinator Kellen Moore. With reports of tension between franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts and embattled Eagles coach Nick Sirriani, keep an eye on the heat that’s gonna come out of Philly if The Birds start off slow.
3.) Does RB Saquon Barkley Still Have It? Coming down the I-95 from the long-time rival New York Giants, new Eagles running back is out to prove that he’s still one of the top backs in the NFL. When healthy, Barkely is a handful to handle, both in the running and passing game. After rushing for 962 yards on 247 carries and six touchdowns, while averaging 3.9 yards a carry, look for Barkley to look fresh and rejuvenated in being a feature tailback once again.