What We Saw: Week 1

Packers @ Eagles

Final Score: Eagles 34 – Packers 29
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Writer: Matt Prendergast(@AmazingMattyP on Twitter)

This was a looooong game. And from a personal standpoint, could not have ended in a worse matter. A combination of comically inefficient field conditions, a reffing crew working a strenuous flag-hurling and whistling regime (Head Ref Ronald Torbert lost his voice in there), and just the general pacing made for a First Friday that at some points (re: the entire First Quarter) felt as if it would never end. Once both squads warmed up and started working out some kinks, this became a pretty evenly matched fantasy-rich showdown, albeit a raggedy one. The Philadelphia Eagles got their game together a little faster and much more thoroughly than the Green Bay Packers did by the final gun. Malik Willis finished the game.

Four Up

• Saquon Barkley – It took a quarter to get synced up and warm, but Saquon looked all of his “Saquon-ness” starting in the second quarter. Once Barkley started hitting on cylinders, the rest of the offense opened up and started clicking. Three touchdowns and general dominance in his debut, earning all that check.
• Jayden Reed – Green Bay has a lot of weapons, which can make week-to-week fantasy predictions tricky, but Reed started this season where he staked his claim last year. At this point in this team’s development, he’s the most exciting – and consistent – weapon they have in the arsenal.
• AJ Brown/DeVonta Smith – On a night where Jalen wasn’t always right on, his two guys had his back – combo platter of 203 receiving yards tonight, consistent contribution when needed the most.
• Guy In The Stands Wearing A Joe Montana Jersey – Never forget where you came from.

Three Down

• Cleats/The Earth – I don’t know which component failed more here, but in my heart, I know only a true team effort with both sides contributing an equal lack of performance and execution could result in the complete failure that these two put together on this night.
• Packer Hands – Drops from Watson (2 in the end zone), Wicks (3!), Doubs and even Reed. Letting catchable balls hit the ground  was a consistent theme all night. Kesean Nixon even let a potential pick-six slip through his hands, just so the offense couldn’t hog all the fun. While the slipping for both sides was mostly a function of the field, the buttery palms were a highlight almost exclusively focused on by the Packers.
• Jordan Love – While the many, MANY drops weren’t all on him, Love still looked like the guy from the first half of last season for most of the night.  While I appreciate he doesn’t get rattled, and I don’t suspect this is an early indication of a potential regression year, his decision-making was subpar for a good chunk of the first half, and even more of the second. Through the fortune of the gods, this only resulted in one interception. This is only his real year two, and I don’t care about that contract, it’s what the market supported, but it was evident tonight that Love (and his lead receivers) needed more work in the preseason. And then he didn’t get up at the end.  Which I’m not ready to talk about.

Green Bay Packers

Quarterback

Jordan Love: 17/34, 260 Yards, 2 TDS, 1 INT

I said a lot of this up top, but Love did not look like the same guy who was playing elite-tier football to close out last year. While his receiving corps by and large wasn’t doing him a lot of favors, he was making forced throws, bad decisions, and critical errors consistently throughout the night. It’s another learning bump, but let’s hope that leg isn’t going to keep him out long.

Notes

• I sincerely hope the injury is not as severe as Jordan’s bright red Pain Assessment Tool face indicated initially.

Missed Opportunities

• Love’s first half looked a lot like the first month of last year – a few forces, some bad decisions.
• Late second-quarter decisions more than a little questionable, got away with two consecutive throws that could/should have been picks.
• Horrible attempted force-job to Musgrave was a beautifully wrapped gift for Reed Blankenship, resulting in a pick deep in Packers territory

Malik Willis: 0/1

Malik Willis entered the game with one chance to win the whole gosh-dang thing and seize all that delicious momentary glory. He did not.

Notes

• I am not fully confident Malik Willis even has the whole playbook yet.
• That’s not on him.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs: 16 Carries, 84 yards | 2 Catches, 3 Targets, 20 yards 

While not as spectacular a debut in his new jersey as Barkley’s was, by the second half Josh Jacobs was looking the part as the future workhorse here – stifled early, JJ kept at it and started finding his groove later in the game. This may take a couple of weeks to get really smooth, but it’s coming. Over 100 combined yards is nothing to sneeze at in his debut.

Notes

• Slow going for the first half – didn’t seem like the line created the creases Jacobs is expecting.
• Great veteran heads-up at the game’s end getting out of bounds on the broken-play-turned-halfback-toss

Missed Opportunities

• Hard to tell if he’s not hitting the marks to find seams and holes, or the OL isn’t making any, but midway in the first half I’ll guarantee people in Green Bay were screaming about Aaron Jones.

Emanuel Wilson: 4 Carries, 46 Yards | 2 Catches, 3 Targets, 2 Yards

For the first half of this game, Wilson was by far the more impressive back wearing green and gold. While Jacobs was struggling in the early going, Wilson’s brief appearances in relief were productive. By the game’s end, Green Bay looked like they had a solid 1-2 combo in the making. Granted, it would still roll out as an 80/20 split at best, but it’s better than nothing for the backup.

Notes

• Limited first first-half action, but Wilson was making a case to take his RB2-in-relief gig tonight and make them at least consider making that a more permanent position.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Jayden Reed: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 138 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Carry, 33 Yards, 1 TD

Reed is unquestionably the hottest receiver on the Packers – he hit the ground in this opener like hadn’t had any off time from last year. He’s the kind of player who feels like he’s got a shot at the end zone each and every time he gets the ball in his hands. Reed looked and played like maybe the only guy on this offense who was ready for the regular season, probably Emanuel Wilson excepted.

Notes

• WOW, I FORGOT HOW FUN THIS GUY IS IN THE OFFSEASON!
• Great sideline grab on the final drive to keep the Packers in the ‘still have a chance’ zone.

Missed Opportunities

• Had an early touchdown taken away by the 12 men on the field, but since he was SUPER open, it was likely a direct result of the extra body out there anyway.

Christian Watson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 13 yards, 1 TD

The timing touchdown is the only thing that kept Watson from being singled out in my ‘Three Down’ up above. For the athletic freak that Watson flashes to be (and why we all keep drafting him probably well above what his earned ADP probably should be), 13 yards is not much contribution on a night when opportunity was plenty. Both drops were on the same drive in the end zone. If you toss me three balls in the end zone, and I’ve got decent separation on two of them, I promise I can also drop two of them, but for free.

Missed Opportunities

• Two drops on two red-zone opportunities on the same drive  – the first one would have been zeroed out due to Doubs’ pointless block-and-penalty anyhow, but come on, man. Did you pull your hand-strings this year?

Romeo Doubs: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 50 Yards

The only other set of hands in this receiving corps I trust on the regular, Romeo had a fair night. Nothing really outstanding, but he did lead the team in targets. Until I see a consistent trend, it’s hard to trust that Doubs can be a regular fantasy start, he tends to grind out the dirty yards to extend drives, and a lot of the highlights go to Reed and – for reasons of ‘WE WANT HIM TO BE GREAT’ – Watson, but from a football standpoint, he’s going to serve as Love’s security blanket for a long time.

Notes

• Another preseason of ‘Doubs has got something special with Love’, and then kind of a meh opening game, statistically.

Missed Opportunities

• Miss on a catchable-though-not-ideal toss on 2nd-and-15, the lack of hands on the GB receivers (sans Reed) seems to be spreading.

Dontayvion Wicks: 3 Targets, 0 Receptions

All three targets were catchable; all three were dropped. After a preseason chock full of prognostications of ‘the next Davante Adams‘, Wicks showed up tonight to prove all those critical assessments dead wrong. You showed ’em!

Notes

• Wicks got looks early but looked more out-of-sync with Love and his own footing than anybody else on that field, which was I guess an accomplishment of some sort.

Missed Opportunities

• Dropped a catchable 2-and-20 ball in the second series
• Another drop after-the-slip.

Luke Musgrave: Did Not Pl—-oh, wait.  2 Targets, 0 Receptions

Aside from being the poorly chosen target of Love’s late-game interception, I couldn’t say I noticed Musgrave much in this game.

Missed Opportunities

• He wasn’t involved in plays, or the scheme in general.

Tucker Kraft: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 37 Yards

The other young TE, I truly believe Kraft will take the unquestioned TE1 spot sooner rather than later. He plays in a violent style that gets extra yards and blocks like it too. While I love the idea of an effective two-tight end offense here, and it’s way too soon to count out Musgrave’s development, Kraft just seems to contribute more – it was clear last year even after Luke got back from injury, and it continued today. A couple noticeable penalty mistakes today, but all publicity is good publicity, right?

Missed Opportunities

• A Hold negating the first solid run for Jacobs.
• Culprit on the illegal shift call wherein he looked lost in formation.

Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 20/34, 278 Yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT

This was by no stretch of the imagination one of Hurts’ better outings – but when the money mattered most, he was a flat-out stud late in the game, leaning on his legs when it needed, and not before. Both interceptions were cleanly on him, but again, he is surrounded by an offense that can cover for him long enough to get re-calibrated, which he did in this game in time to make a final Packers’ comeback attempt a slim one that ultimately failed.

Notes

• I forget how good Hurts is when pressed into taking on some of the running chores himself. Critical in that fourth quarter.

Missed Opportunities

• Terrible placement and decision resulting in the Xavier McKinney pick.
• BRUTAL early fumble. The post-Kelce era may be off to an auspicious start, Jurgens with too much lotion on that ball.

Running Back

Saquon Barkley: 24 Carries, 109 Yards, 2 TDs | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards, 1 TD

That was just great. Shook off a dicey first quarter of little success to just crush the Packers in one of the most impressive ‘new team debuts’ I recall seeing. By the fourth quarter, Saquon was in optimal form, nearly breaking off for a fourth touchdown. Be happy where you drafted him, this looks like a tremendous fit.

Notes

• Took until the second quarter, but Barkley caught stride with a solid breakthrough run and the touchdown catch shortly thereafter.

Missed Opportunities

• Five-yard loss-from-slipping on the first Eagles’ offensive play. Not the spectacular first step the Philly loyalists hoped for, but at least he wasn’t injured yet.

Kenneth Gainwell: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 yards

Gainwell is typically going to be seen sparingly (aside from the kick returns), similar to whoever sits in the GB RB2 chair, but he looked okay the two plays he was involved in. It’s hard to gauge what kind of breather-time usage Gainwell might see moving forward from this game, I’d imagine in strong-lead situations, he may get a few more looks in garbage time, but for fantasy purposes, he’s valueless in most situations for now.

Missed Opportunities

• Didn’t have many to miss.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

AJ Brown: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 119 Yards, 1 TD

Brown remains a monster. Spent half the game nearly getting into a fistfight with All-Pro Cornerback/Headcase J’aire Alexander, and pretty efficiently won the debate tonight, most emphatically on the 67-yard touchdown. Significant blocking contributions as well.

Notes

• Great route execution directly responsible for Saquon’s first Eagles’ touchdown

DeVonta Smith: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 84 Yards

Those 84 yards this evening were earned, not given. This is a top-tier wide-receiver tandem; we all know that. There will be weeks where AJ takes the majority share, and weeks where DeVonta edges him out. But the important thing is: they are both getting fed, and well. Smith won the reception battle between the two tonight, and would have won the yardage contest as well were it not for the huge Brown catch-and-run, but they both proved you drafted them well tonight.

Notes

• Great awareness and body work to convert first down on catch-and-run

Jahan Dotson: 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Well, so much for taking away the Johnny Wilson opportunities.

Johnny Wilson: 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Well, so much for taking away the Jahan Dotson opportunities.

Dallas Goedert: 5 Targets, 4 Catches, 31 Yards

About what I figured – Goedert is generally going to be the fourth or fifth receiving option on a team that won’t usually need to get past the first three. A long one of 21 on this night, so an average of 3.3 on his other three catches. He’s a middle-road fantasy TE option who will get you a couple of good games, but not consistently upper-tier. This was not one of those ‘couple good’ games. Seems like a good guy though.

Grant Calcaterra: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Tonight I learned the name of the Eagles TE2. It is Grant Calcaterra.

Notes

• That’s it for this week, thanks for reading!