The Green Bay Packers got star performances Zach Tom and Jayden Reed and an impressive debut from Edgerrin Cooper and Xavier McKinney on defense, but a dominant performance from the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line and big games from A.J. Brown, Devonta Smith and Zack Baun were too much to overcome in a 34-29 loss in the season opener on Friday night.
The much-anticipated debut of Jeff Hafley’s defense was mostly a flop.
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles:
Top 5 offense
1. RT Zach Tom: 92.0
2. WR Jayden Reed: 89.2
3. LG Elgton Jenkins: 78.4
4. RB Emanuel Wilson: 69.4
5. RG Jordan Morgan: 67.7
Tom didn’t give up a single pressure over 43 pass-blocking snaps and earned an elite run-blocking grade. Reed had a drop, but he also averaged 4.93 yards per route run, picked up 54 yards after the catch and had a 33-yard rushing touchdown. Jenkins didn’t allow a pressure in the passing game and was solid in the run game. Wilson had two runs over 10 yards, a tough catch for a first down and a solid block on Reed’s touchdown run. Morgan allowed a single quarterback hit over 19 pass-blocking snaps and was solid in the run game.
Top 5 defense
1. LB Edgerrin Cooper: 85.9
2. S Xavier McKinney: 76.2
3. LB Eric Stokes: 66.7
4. CB Keisean Nixon: 65.4
5. DE Lukas Van Ness: 65.3
Cooper had a run stop, a batted pass and three total tackles on only 11 snaps. McKinney intercepted a pass, gave up only one completion into his primary coverage and made four tackles without a miss. Stokes had a missed tackle but ended up giving up only two catches into his coverage. Nixon had a sack of Jalen Hurts, a pass breakup and two stops, but he gave up four catches and missed two tackles. Van Ness had one hurry and one run stop over 19 snaps.
Bottom 5 offense
1. TE Luke Musgrave: 43.8
2. WR Dontayvion Wicks: 44.0
3. C Josh Myers: 50.1
4. TE Tucker Kraft: 55.1
5. WR Christian Watson: 59.6
Musgrave ran eight routes but didn’t catch either target, and he was the target on Jordan Love’s interception. Wicks had a drop and was 0-for-3 catching his targets. Myers gave up two pressures, was penalized once and received average run-blocking grades. Kraft was solid as a run blocker, but his 30 routes run resulted in only two targets. Watson caught a touchdown, but he turned 28 routes and five targets into only 13 yards.
Bottom 5 defense
1. LB Isaiah McDuffie: 35.7
2. DL Kenny Clark: 39.4
3. DE Kingsley Enagbare: 41.3
4. DL Karl Brooks: 42.4
5. DL TJ Slaton: 42.7
McDuffie missed two tackles and gave up a touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley. Clark had four hurries but earned terrible grades against the run. Enagbare didn’t have a pressure or a tackle over 30 total snaps. Brooks delivered a pressure and two stops but earned the team’s lowest run defense grade. Slaton had three assisted stops and a hurry but also received poor grades against the run.
Special teams
Edgerrin Cooper had a tackle covering a kickoff and was the highest rated special teams player. Zayne Anderson also had a tackle. The Packers didn’t miss a tackle on special teams, but Rasheed Walker, Xavier McKinney and Isaiah McDuffie all had penalties. Brayden Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal. Daniel Whelan put one punt out of bounds inside the 20 and another forced a fair catch — his net average was 37 yards.
Quarterback play
Jordan Love: 64.6
Malik Willis: 42.5
Love was credited with two “big-time throws” and two “turnover-worthy plays,” and he was hurt by three drops, two throws while being hit and three throwaways. His adjusted completion percentage was 69.0 on an average depth of target of almost 10 yards. Love did connect on 3-of-5 passes over 20 yards downfield, but he was just 2-for-8 in the intermediate areas. He was 3-for-10 — including the 70-yard touchdown pass — on 12 pressured dropbacks. Willis threw wildly incomplete on his first snap and was sacked before attempting a Hail Mary on his second and final snap.
Stat to know
Cornerback Jaire Alexander had an interception, but he also allowed four catches for 108 yards and was penalized for holding. A.J. Brown was responsible for all four catches against Alexander, including a game-changing 67-yard score early in the second half, creating a decisive win for the Eagles in this primetime matchup.
