The Philadelphia Eagles' matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Corinthians Arena in Brazil on Friday night was incredibly entertaining with plenty of explosive offensive plays and big highlights.
But it didn't arrive without some controversy.
From the first snaps of the game on, players on both teams struggled at times to keep their footing on the turf. Receivers slipped when trying to change direction on a route, and defenders fell to the ground when trying to make a tackle.
At one point in the second quarter, Packers receiver Dontayvion Wicks and running back Emanuel Wilson slipped on back-to-back plays.
The field conditions have been a problem in Brazil, with Packers and Eagles players slipping all over the place.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 7, 2024
Here are consecutive plays on a Packers drive where their players slipped. 🏈😵💫🇧🇷 #NFL pic.twitter.com/qVhfOsdP44
Many former NFL players, like J.J. Watt and former Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, and current fans like LeBron James, weighed in on social media:
Man this field sucks!!! 🤦🏾♂️ GB vs PHI
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 7, 2024
Soccer fields are made for speed and agility. Smaller bodies gliding across the surface with minimal contact.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) September 7, 2024
They are not properly conditioned to have the size & strength of NFL players cutting, pushing and driving all game on them.
This is common at international games. https://t.co/6NmjrwFty2
My thoughts on the field surface: uncommon field surface for both teams. All players should be wearing 7-studs or a flex option in forefoot (shout out Redd and T-Bone). That’ll fix majority of the slipping.
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) September 7, 2024
My brother and I were saying players should be pissed about this. There…
Yea NFL don’t care with this field
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) September 7, 2024
this field is embarrassing
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 7, 2024
absolutely egregious
This field is SO bad.
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) September 7, 2024
Not a good product and a safety hazard tbh.
I knew this field would suck! Stop sending our football games to other countries!
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) September 7, 2024
The NFL should be ashamed about this turf.
— Bootleg Fantasy Football (@BootlegFantasy) September 7, 2024
Friday night's contest marked the first game in NFL history played in South America. The NFL has five more international regular-season games scheduled this season with three in London and one apiece in Munich and Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James, NFL World Rants About Slippery Field in Brazil for Eagles-Packers.
