Slippery Field in Brazil Makes Things Difficult for Eagles and Packers

SÃO PAULO — Stadium conditions were the most discussed topic after the Philadelphia Eagles’34-29 win over Green Bay Packers Football Team on Friday night.

Several players lost their balance during the game and later blamed the slippery surface at Arena Corinthians, which is a football stadium. For the Eagles, this brought back some recent bad memories.

“It reminds me of the Super Bowl lawn,” the linebacker said. Dallas Goedertalluded to the surface in Arizona when the Eagles lost Kansas City Chiefs in the LVII Super Cup.

“I mean, you guys saw out there that it’s hard to get traction,” the Eagles quarterback Jalen hurts said. “It was definitely a challenge on that field. It’s not the type of field we’re used to. We’ve played on that type of field before. They had to play on it. I’m just glad we found a way to deal with it as a team, get through it.”

Eagles run back Saquon Barkley was one of the first to lose his balance, resulting in a five-yard loss on his first time wearing the cleats in an Eagles uniform. After the series, he walked to the sideline and told his teammates they needed to switch to longer, seven-stud cleats.

The change worked out quite well for Barkley, who ran for over 100 yards and finished with three total touchdowns.

“It’s one of those areas where the peak is just so easily broken,” he said. Johnson Street said. “That’s why they make studs. That’s why we package them. They’re not comfortable, but they’re very functional.”

Learning from past experience, some players made moves before the match.

“I was running at full speed when we did the tutorial. [Thursday]I slipped, and I said, ‘I’m not going to make the same mistake twice, I’m going to make seven shots,'” Goedert said.

The Packers felt the effects as well, with coach Matt LaFleur telling a reporter on the sidelines that “it’s definitely a problem.”

“I mean, there were some times where I slipped,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “It’s a little slippery. Obviously it’s different than what I’m used to. It’s just a different situation. Obviously every area is going to be different. We have to be able to, regardless of the situation, still do our job and do it at a high level.”

Not everyone is diplomatic. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James went on social media and wrote: “Oh my god, this field is terrible!!!”

It wasn’t for lack of effort. Philadelphia assistant general manager Jon Ferrari said last week that Eagles groundskeeper Tony Leonard had been working with NFL grounds manager Nick Pappas “months” ahead of the game to get the conditions right for an NFL game.

“This is a football stadium, but it has been renovated,” Ferrari said, “so it is very new.”