This one lived up to expectations in every way. Under the Friday night lights of São Paulo, Brazil, the Eagles and Packers made history in the first NFL game played in South America, and the 60-minute slugfest went down to the wire, with the Eagles showing the most resilience, delivering the final blow, having the strongest legs, and ultimately prevailing 34-29 in a great Week 1 battle.

How did it happen? Let’s count the ways. Running back Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns and 132 total yards in his debut. Quarterback Jalen Hurts shook off three giveaways and led the Eagles on a final, clock-eating drive that produced three points and breathing room on a night when there wasn’t much of it. Wide receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith were brilliant as usual, tight ends Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra caught and blocked and helped the offensive line, and the entire offense accounted for over 400 net yards.

And the defense, against a strong Green Bay offense, provided a nice distraction that led to seven points, two great red zone stands in the first quarter on Eagles mistakes and some wild pass-rushing plays late in the game to seal the win.

Phew! Eagles fans partied in Brazil, they partied at Lincoln Financial Field during the team’s official season-opening party, and they partied in Australia, all exhausted at the end of the long, long night.

Here are some observations from a great, great Eagles win to open the 2024 regular season…

1. The defense in the red zone delivered

Let the record show that the Packers scored one touchdown in four red zone trips. After the Eagles lost the ball twice in the first quarter, Philadelphia held on to first place and limited Green Bay to two field goals and then, out of the blue, the Philadelphia offense came to life.

But have no doubt, the Eagles won this game in the red zone. Aggressive pass-rush pressure off the perimeter, solid coverage on the back end and sure tackling kept Green Bay out of the end zone.

While the Eagles gave up 414 total net yards, they limited Green Bay to a 3-of-11 performance on third downs. They tallied a pair of sacks and pressured quarterback Jordan Love into 17 completions on 34 attempts. Coordinator Vic Fangio has some learning lessons to learn, as the Eagles gave up too many big plays, but there were some good things to see from this defense.

2. Rookie Quinyon Mitchell can play

Sorry to be Captain Obvious here, but it’s worth mentioning: Mitchell stepped right into the starting lineup at cornerback and battled, made some plays, made some mistakes, then came back and made more plays. He looks polished, poised, extremely talented, and on his way to big things. Very strong debut with Mitchell and Darius Slay starting outside and Avonte Maddox playing in the nickel. The secondary gave up too many big plays, but let’s give the Packers credit for that: that’s a very good offense that will give any defense a lot of trouble this season.

3. It’s true: Saquon Barkley is a difference-making player

Running back Saquon Barkley is as advertised – bullish inside, great feet and balance, great burst, a great receiver. He ran for 109 yards on 24 carries and had a pair of touchdowns, and he added two receptions for 23 yards, including an 18-yard grab in the corner of the end zone on a perfect throw from Hurts. That’s three touchdowns for Barkley, who tied Terrell Owens’ three touchdowns in his Eagles debut in 2004. Barkley did it all, even though the Packers really did a pretty good job in the run game. They were very physical on defense. But the Eagles kept going, kept going, and after a slow start, they threw it at it. Speaking of which…

4. Jalen Hurts was huge when the chips were on the table

Hurts threw an interception and had a bad snap exchange with Cam Jurgens early on and just seemed a little out of sync. He had no running lanes and the Packers were disciplined when he tried to get on the ground. Then Hurts threw an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter and stood on the sideline visibly angry with himself — and then he unleashed a killer drive to eat up the clock in the fourth quarter. Sixteen plays, 67 yards and 7 minutes, 25 seconds of play led to a Jake Elliott field goal and the lead went from two points to five with less than a minute left in the game. On the drive, Hurts completed two passes to Smith for first downs and ran twice for 16 yards and big first downs, working the clock beautifully and the four-minute offense became the 7:25 offense at just the right time when the Eagles needed it.

There are things to work on – notably the giveaways and lack of success on the Brotherly Shove, but that’s to be expected. The Eagles won this game and it was a titanic win and that’s all that matters on a night where we got a glimpse of what Kellen Moore is planning to do with the offense – good tempo, mixed personnel packages including using two running backs at once, spreading the ball around, getting the ball to Barkley often (26 touches) and keeping Hurts in the running game. Hurts was 20 of 34 for 278 yards and had 13 carries for 33 yards on the ground. Big numbers for any quarterback on this stage.

5. The Turnover Battle: In a rare occurrence, the Eagles lose turnovers and win the game

You shouldn’t win a game if you lose the turnover battle 3-1. But the Eagles did. The great red zone defense helped, as did turning a Reed Blankenship interception into seven points. That’s how you do it, folks.

6. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith showed once again why they are the perfect wide receiver duo

Here are the numbers: Brown passed for 119 yards and a touchdown on five catches (10 targets) and Smith ate the Packers alive with seven receptions and 84 yards on eight targets. They’re just so, so good together, perfectly complementary and happy for each other. In a world where NFL wide receivers have a hard time, um, sharing the spotlight, these two love it when the other succeeds.

7. The tight ends also helped

Not a great night, but definitely a contribution from Dallas Goedert, who had 4 receptions for 31 yards and Grant Calcaterra, who had a big 11-yard catch for a first down. They helped the new offensive line with Jurgens – who had some ups and downs – in the middle and Mekhi Becton at right guard. This group is getting better and better.

8. Other notable observations

Both Nakobe Dean and Zach Baun were around the football a lot. Baun led the Eagles with 11 solo tackles and 15 total hits, and also recorded two quarterback sacks. Dean nearly had a pick-six, but otherwise he was very strong with four tackles and good activity. Again, the defense gave up too many big plays, and that will be addressed, but they hung in there and even knocked Love out of the game, bringing backup Malik Willis on the field for two desperate snaps in the final seconds. The Eagles swarmed on that final drive. Great to see.

The new dynamic kickoff? Thirteen kickoffs, 10 touchbacks and three no-big-deal returns.

Green Bay won the coin toss and elected to receive – and no doubt regretted it. The Eagles used the final possession of the first half to score on an Elliott field goal to cut Green Bay’s lead to 19-17, and then Hurts found Brown for a 67-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the first possession of the second half and … that’s … why … you … turn to the second half, people.