Eagles Getting No Favors From NFL With Week 1 Game in Brazil

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In business or any other venture, you know you are doing something right as a brand when the company you represent wants you to be the highlight of an international series.
Things are a little different in the NFL, though.
Traveling overseas for games across the globe can be a logistical nightmare for most organizations. Having to practice away from the team facility, while losing a precious home game in a tight schedule is never a good thing, either.
That's the reality the Philadelphia Eagles are in following the NFL's announcement that they will host the first-ever game in Brazil to open up the 2024 season. Making matters even wonkier is the fact that the game will be the first-ever season-opening game on a Friday in NFL history.
The NFL did no favors for the Eagles to open up the season overseas. First off, for a team that lost six of its last seven games, the organization as a whole needs to start fast. There's no guarantee that they will during an overseas trip down to South America.
After having the NFL's toughest schedule in 2023, Philadelphia's 17-game stretch is expected to be a tad easier thanks to the second-place schedule. But when an overseas trip like this is planned, the belief is that the league will put the Eagles in a game against one of the top teams on the docket like the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers (who were a win away from the NFC Title game this year).
Do the Eagles have enough talent to take on their NFC East rivals or a young and experienced group like Green Bay? Of course.
That's not the point, though. With a fanbase searching for blood after a disastrous end to the season in 2023, any early slip-up will have the pitchforks raised outside the Novacare Complex.
Eagles’ Lurie ‘Honored’ to Host First Game in Brazil
Philadelphia was able to pull out a victory the last time they were overseas in 2018. They'll be under far more pressure to kick off 2024 on a high note, though.
It's that pressure on the team that shows why the NFL did the organization little favors in their upcoming season to start.

Nick is an NFL Beat Writer and Columnist for Sports Illustrated. He was previously on the New York Jets beat for AM New York with prior experience covering the New York Islanders, and Philadelphia Eagles. He is an Adjunct Professor for LIU Brooklyn and has prior working experience under ESPN, Pro Football Network, and CBS Sports Network.