Three Bold Predictions for Packers vs. Eagles Week 1 in Brazil

The day Packers fans have been eagerly awaiting has finally arrived!

Green Bay and Philadelphia match up during primetime tonight in Brazil and there are plenty of storylines to watch.

Packers fans get to see the debut of Josh Jacobs, a (finally) healthy secondary, and the chance to start this season with a signature win.

If you’re wagering on this game, you can try to cash in on some of your early-season hunches, including some of the bold predictions outlined below:

(Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook)

Christian Watson to score the First TD (+1100 odds)

If you’re going to take a chance on any player to score the first touchdown of the game, it’s hard to beat the odds associated with Watson.

He’s scored 14 touchdowns in 23 games played and is in the best spot in his career after addressing the leg strength issue that hampered his 2023 season.

Of course, there’s the chance that the Eagles score first or Jacobs rumbles into the end zone. But the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Watson is by far the biggest receiving target for Jordan Love and already has proven to be an efficient scorer.

If you like the Packers to score first (and why wouldn’t you?), Watson is the best bet of the bunch.

Packers to win by 3+ points (+159 odds)

These teams were on reverse courses to end their 2023 seasons, with the Packers finishing on a 6-2 run and the Eagles ending on a 1-5 slide.

Of course, that was several months ago by now, but there’s legitimate reason to think those trends were for real.

Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements turned Jordan Love from an interception machine into one of the best decision-makers in the NFL over the second half of last season.

Jalen Hurts, on the other hand, was exposed when he couldn’t rely on Philadelphia’s rushing attack, and the retirement of Jason Kelce might make the tush push much harder to replicate.

Quarterbacks aside, Green Bay can win this game with its defense.

The Packers were without Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes for much of last season and didn’t have Xavier McKinney and STILL were in the top half of the NFL in passing yards allowed (218.3 per game, 13th in NFL).

That group isn’t being given the credit they deserve, which leads to the next bold prediction.

Under 49 points scored (-108 odds)

The Packers and Eagles should have two of the top offenses this NFL season, but this number is simply too high for Week 1.

Consider this: Last season, only three Week 1 games went over 49 points, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that neither of these teams has the luxury of playing at home tonight.

Both teams were in the top 10 for scoring output last season, but even if that repeats, their season-long averages — Philadelphia averaged 24.6 points per game and Green Bay averaged 23.8 points per game — fall short of this number.

While these offenses are impressive, don’t forget that the Packers should have one of the top secondaries in the NFL, and the Eagles are positioned to be better defensively this season, too.

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