The Packers and Eagles will face off in Brazil on Friday night to start their 2024 campaigns. Here is how to bet on the game at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Packers (+2.5) vs. Eagles o/u 49
The NFL is starting a new tradition with a Friday night kickoff game in Brazil this season. Last season, the NFL added a Germany game to its international schedule, and now the Eagles and Packers will play the first-ever NFL game in South America. The travel will have some effect on these teams, but because it is Week 1 and the time change is only one hour ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, the travel shouldn’t have as much of an effect as it does in London or Germany.
Packers Team Breakdown
The Packers had a fantastic 2023 season, largely due to the emergence of QB Jordan Love. In Love’s first season as the Packers’ starter, he threw for over 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns. He was also one drive away from leading the Packers to the NFC Championship Game after beating the Cowboys in Dallas in the Divisional Round. Love has a big selection of young receivers with high upsides to throw to, including Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. It will be interesting to see if one of them breaks out as the clear WR1 this season.
The Packers’ backfield will look different this season. After seven seasons, RB Aaron Jones has left Green Bay, and the Packers replaced him with former Raiders RB Josh Jacobs and rookie MarShawn Lloyd. If Jacobs is healthy, he will be a great complement to Love’s aerial attack. The Packers also used five draft picks to bolster the linebacking corps and secondary, improving the depth at those positions.
Eagles Team Breakdown
After making the Super Bowl two seasons ago, the Eagles took a bit of a step back last season. They still made the postseason, but they were running on fumes towards the end of the regular season, and Tampa Bay was dominated in the Wild Card Round. The Eagles will be fresh to start the 2024 season and are looking to prove they can still contend for a Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts added a new weapon to the offense with ex-Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The Eagles will look much different in a negative way as well without legendary center Jason Kelce. Kelce was not only a great blocking center but was a huge part of reading the defense and helping Hurts adjust the offense at the line of scrimmage. Cam Jurgens, a 2022 second-round draft pick, will be the first center not named Kelce to start a season opener for the Eagles since 2010. Jurgens started at right guard for the Eagles last season so he has NFL experience, just not at the center position.
Towards the end of last season, the Eagles were getting shredded through the air. They finished the season with the 30th-ranked passing defense in the NFL. They tried to address this need with their first two draft picks CBs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. The Eagles also brought in former Eagle CJ Gardner-Johnson from Detroit at safety. The Eagles also hoped to improve their LB corps with veteran Devin White from Tampa Bay but White will miss the season opener with an injury.
Pick and Prediction
When it comes to historical trends, there are a few interesting ones that jump out:
- As the Packers head coach, Matt LaFleur is a remarkable 21-9 (70%) ATS as an underdog.
- Overall, LaFleur is 53-37 (58.9%) ATS as Packers head coach, the best ATS record of any team in the NFL since 2019.
- As the Eagles starting quarterback, Hurts is 10-18-1 (35.7%) ATS away from home (including on a neutral field).
This should be a close, high-scoring game. A fully healthy and rested Eagles offense with the addition of Saquon Barkley is going to be really tough to stop. That being said, Love should pick up right where he left off and exploit this Eagles secondary that was so bad last season. These two teams should trade blows all game and this game could easily come down to the final score in either direction, making the Packers a great teaser piece from +2.5 up to +8.5.
However, for my best bet, I am backing Love. He passed for at least 256 yards in seven of the Packers’ last nine regular season games. Love was 6th in the NFL in EPA/play last season and 12th in air yards per attempt. That is despite Love being more conservative early on in the season. From Weeks 10-18 of the 2023 regular season, Love was 3rd in EPA/play and 4th in CPOE (completion percentage over expected) amongst qualified quarterbacks. All of these numbers indicate that Love should hit the ground running to start this season.
Best Bet: Jordan Love o256.5 passing yards (-115)
Place your NFL bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is blakekrass) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and cannot access any non-public information.
