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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2024, 02:35 AM ET
- Tim McManus covers the Philadelphia Eagles for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2016 after covering the Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine’s Birds 24/7, a site he helped create, since 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @Tim_McManus.
SÃO PAULO — The field conditions were a major talking point after the Philadelphia Eagles‘ 34-29 win over the Green Bay Packers on Friday night.
A number of players lost their footing during the game and later attributed it to the slick surface at Arena Corinthians, which is normally a soccer stadium. For the Eagles, it stirred some not-so-great recent memories.
“It kind of reminded me of the Super Bowl turf,” said tight end Dallas Goedert, referencing the surface in Arizona when the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
“I mean, y’all saw out there that it was kind of rough to get traction,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “Definitely challenging on that field. It’s not the type of field we’re used to playing on. We’ve had that type of field before. They had to play on it, as well. I’m just happy that we found a way to figure it out as a team, overcome it.”
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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was one of the first to lose his footing, resulting in a 5-yard loss on his first carry in an Eagles uniform. After the series, he went to the sideline and told his teammates they needed to switch to longer, seven-stud cleats.
The change worked out pretty well for Barkley, who went on to rush for over 100 yards and finished with three total touchdowns.
“It’s one of those fields where the top just came off pretty easy,” tackle Lane Johnson said. “That’s what they make studs for. That’s why we pack ’em. They’re not comfortable, but they are handy.”
Having learned from the past, some players made the move before the game.
“I ran a route full speed when we did the walkthrough [Thursday], slipped, and I said, ‘I’m not going to make the same mistake twice, I’m going to seven studs,'” Goedert said.
The Packers were feeling the effects as well. Coach Matt LaFleur told a sideline reporter during the game that “it’s been a problem for sure.”
“I mean, there were some cases where I was slipping,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “It was a little slippery. Different than obviously what I’m kind of used to. It’s just another circumstance. Obviously, every field is going to be different. We got to be able to, no matter the circumstance, still do our jobs and do it at a high level.”
Not everyone was as diplomatic. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to social media and wrote: “Man this field sucks!!!”
It wasn’t for lack of effort. Eagles head groundskeeper Tony Leonard worked with NFL field director Nick Pappas “for months” in advance of the game, Philadelphia assistant general manager Jon Ferrari said last week, to get the conditions just right for an NFL game.
“It’s a soccer pitch, but it’s been sort of retrofitted,” Ferrari said, “so it’s in great shape.”
