Penalties and missed opportunities will haunt the Green Bay Packers should a tough Week 1 loss prove to be their undoing later in the 2024 season. In the season opener, the Packers lost 34-29 to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that was decided at least in part by Green Bay’s inability to capitalize on turnovers in the first quarter.

Jalen Hurts lost the ball twice before the Eagles gained a single first down, giving Green Bay two chances to start inside Philadelphia’s 25-yard line. But the Packers managed just six points on those two drives and just nine points on the three turnovers they forced in the game, while Jordan Love struggled with some inaccuracies throughout the game.

However, Love went down on one of the last plays of the game while attempting a miracle comeback. While he was going down, Love threw the football back to Josh Jacobs as his left ankle got caught under several defenders. So substitute Malik Willis came in and attempted a Hail Mary from midfield, but he couldn’t get rid of the football and was sacked by Zack Baun as time expired.

Love’s injury looked dire, as he was on the field for several minutes before limping off the field with the help of several trainers. His condition will need to be closely monitored over the next few hours and days, and if the injury does indeed sideline him for an extended period of time, the situation of the team’s backup quarterback will once again come into focus.

A missed field goal in the second half by rookie kicker Brayden Narveson was a major drawback for a while, but ultimately the exhausted Packers defense failed to leave the field for almost eight minutes to end the fourth quarter. Philadelphia took all but 27 seconds of the takeover with 7:52 remaining in the game and forced the Packers into a furious comeback attempt. Jayden Reed’s fantastic 33-yard pass sent Green Bay to the halfway line, where Love was rolled in and ended the game.

Now the Packers must take a long flight home from Brazil with a limping quarterback and spend two extra days preparing for their first home game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Reed was the star of the game for the Packers, scoring a touchdown both on the ground and in the air. Reed totaled over 170 yards from scrimmage and eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards, catching four passes for 138 yards in the game.

The Packers opened the game at the 35-yard line instead of the 30, as the Eagles kicked the ball into the end zone and moved before the ball landed, resulting in a 5-yard penalty. Jordan Love picked up 19 yards on a third-down pass to Romeo Doubs and appeared to catch the Eagles with 12 men on the field a few plays later. Love quickly grabbed the ball and hit Jayden Reed for a 38-yard touchdown, but tight end Luke Musgrave also left the field late, resulting in compensating penalties.

After a punt, the Packers’ new defense had a bullseye on its first opportunity when new safety Xavier McKinney locked eyes with Jalen Hurts and intercepted his pass over the middle, giving the Packers their first turnover and an instant reward for signing a big free agent to the team. A holding call on Rasheed Walker set the Packers back on a 3rd-and-long, and Brayden Narveson came in and put the Packers up early with a 31-yard field goal to give them a 3-0 lead.

Narveson then forced the Eagles deep with a creative jump ball, and the Eagles suffered their second turnover in two possessions three plays later. Cam Jurgens’ snap came too early for Hurts and Devonte Wyatt fell on the football, giving Green Bay its second possession deep in Eagles territory. But once again a holding penalty put the Packers behind, and they had to settle for another short field goal from Narveson and a 6-0 lead.

Philadelphia finally got its offense going on its third drive. After a touchback, they started at the 30-yard line and moved across midfield with a few short passes. A run by Saquon Barkley got them into the red zone, then he picked up a wheel route in the front left corner of the end zone, giving the Eagles a 7-6 lead despite their early offensive woes.

The Packers got the offense going on the ensuing drive under Emanuel Wilson, who delivered the first explosive runs of the season, putting Green Bay within field goal range with gains of 14 and 18 yards. They didn’t need Narveson this time, as Jayden Reed ran 33 yards on an end-around for the Packers’ first touchdown of the season and a 12-7 lead. The Packers went within 2 points, however, after the Eagles were offside on the PAT, and Josh Jacobs was stopped, keeping the lead at five points.

Barkley put the Eagles back in front a few minutes later with an 11-yard strike into the end zone. That came after Hurts got the passing game going and gave both AJ Brown and Devonta Smith at least 20 yards of gain, leaving the Packers with about five minutes left in the first half to regain the lead.

They needed 23 seconds. On third-and-10, Love moved into the pocket and found an open Reed, who shook off a tackler and ran unchallenged into the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown to put the Packers back in the lead, 19-14.

Another 20-yard gain to Dallas Goedert got the Eagles going and they reached the limit of field goal range. They opted to keep the offense on the field after the two-minute warning on 4th-and-3 from the 32-yard line. Devonta Smith made a difficult catch over the middle to move the chains, but a clutch sack by Keisean Nixon on a charging Hurts forced the Eagles to take their final timeout on 2nd-and-long with 31 seconds left in the game. That forced Jake Elliott onto the field for a field goal to cut the Packers’ lead to 19-17 at halftime.

After the break, Philadelphia struck quickly with another big play. Hurts found AJ Brown behind Jaire Alexander on the right sideline, and he fired into the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles back the lead, 24-19.

The Packers, however, wasted no time getting into the red zone. After a roughing the passer penalty on Zack Baun, Tucker Kraft was able to gain 29 yards on a drag route over the middle, putting the Packers inside the 20-yard line. On 3rd and 9, Avonte Maddox got a pass interference flag on Dontayvion Wicks and on the next play, Love found Christian Watson on a slant for a two-yard touchdown and another lead change at 26-24.

Green Bay’s defense finally managed to stop the ensuing attack. Rookie Edgerrin Cooper made a good stop on the running play before Rashan inflicted an unblocked sack on Gary Hurts on third down. But the Eagles were able to get a stop, too, helped by a couple of missed throws from Love. After another Philadelphia punt, the Packers got their first turnover when Love made the terrible decision to throw a soft throw to Luke Musgrave in the seam. Safety Reed Blankenship jumped the route and intercepted the pass, giving the Eagles the football deep in Green Bay territory.

A short pass to Devonta Smith and three runs by Barkley put Philadelphia in the end zone again, where Barkley scored his third touchdown of the game, giving the Eagles a 31-26 lead with about four minutes left in the third quarter.

The Packers had a chance to close the gap, but the kicking problems reared their ugly head again. After Josh Jacobs ran for 25 yards, the Packers had to settle for a 42 yard field goal attempt, but Narveson’s kick drifted right and bounced off the right upright. Barkley answered with a 34 yard run on the Eagles’ next play to end the fourth quarter.

But instead of the Eagles extending their lead, Jaire Alexander made a great play that narrowed the game down to a touchdown. Hurts was in trouble as he threw the ball across his body to the middle of the field. Alexander was there to intercept it and cause the Green Bay defense’s third turnover of the day.

Jacobs made another big 32-yard run on the next play before Love hit a completely open Reed for another big gain, giving Reed over 100 yards of gains on the day. But again the Packers had to settle for a field goal after Love came under pressure in the red zone, and Narveson scored this time from 26 yards to bring the Packers within two points at 31-29.

Philadelphia then tried to get as much of the remaining eight minutes as possible and score points. They got help from some Packers penalties – both legitimate and questionable – but moved the ball slowly, getting a key first down on a throw to Smith at the two-minute warning when the Packers had only one timeout left. After Hurts botched the snap on a sneak attempt from the goal line, the Eagles kicked another field goal and took a five-point lead with less than 30 seconds left.

Love could have had a heroic final drive, but it was hampered when Keisean Nixon decided to kick the kickoff outside the end zone, costing the Packers nearly 15 yards of field position. Love’s pass to Reed brought Green Bay to the halfway line, but then disaster struck. Love was under pressure and threw the ball back sideways to Jacobs, who came out of bounds to stop the clock. But the quarterback’s left ankle was twisted under the body of defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and he lay on the turf in severe pain for several minutes before being led off the field.

Malik Willis came in and tried to throw the ball into the end zone, but couldn’t move it. A quick, incomplete throw to Doubs on the sideline led to a last-ditch attempt, and instead of throwing the ball forward, he held onto it and was sacked by Baun, ending the game.

All eyes are now on Love’s left ankle. The Packers’ backup quarterback situation was already fragile at best, but Love’s absence would put the team in a major predicament early in the season.

The Packers fly home on Saturday and play again next Sunday when they host the Indianapolis Colts in week two.