The Green Bay Packers will play abroad once again. Two years after flying to London, in the United Kingdom, to host the New York Giants in 2022, the Packers will travel to São Paulo, Brazil, to play against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 1.

The Packers suffered with logistic issues two years ago, so it was understandable when president Mark Murphy seemed reluctant about another international game. The NFL, however, was forceful on the issue because of how popular the team is in Brazil — it's the largest fan base in the country, so it makes too much sense.

Despite the valid concerns, there are three reasons for Packers fans to feel some relief that the game won't affect the rest of the season as much as it did two years ago.

1) Time-zone difference

London is six hours ahead of Central Time, so it's a huge time-zone difference. The trip to the United Kingdom affected the team's preparation before and after the Giants' game. São Paulo, though, is just two hours ahead of Green Bay and one hour ahead of Eastern Time, so it's basically a normal Philadelphia game in terms of jet lag.

The flight is obviously longer, but the time-zone difference is a huge factor that won't be as significant this time around.

2) Week 1 Friday game

In 2022, the Packers played in London in week 5. So they faced the New England Patriots at Lambeau Field in week 4, then traveled to Europe to play in week 5 on Sunday, and traveled back to the United States without a subsequent bye week to play the New York Jets in week 6.

Head coach Matt LaFleur admitted it was a mistake not to request a bye week after the trip to London, but the Packers thought it would have been too early in the season to rest. Green Bay lost to the Giants and also lost the following four games, derailing its season.

In 2024, the logistics will be completely different. The game will be on Friday of week 1, so the flight to São Paulo will happen during the bye week after the preseason is over — remember, without a preseason week 4 anymore, there's a weekend without games between the last preseason matchup and the first regular season week.

After the game, the Packers will have two extra days over the week to travel back to the United Stats. There will be more than enough time to be in Green Bay by Monday, ready to start the preparation for week 2. It would make sense if the NFL scheduled Packers and/or Eagles games in week 2 on Monday Night Football, but that decision hasn't been made yet.

3) Away game

In 2022, the Packers hosted the London game against the Giants, so the team ended up making eight home games and eight away games, with a neutral matchup. To get things worse, the game before and the game after the trip were also in Green Bay to facilitate the logistics, so three of the nine home games happened in that spam, with a big travel between them.

This year, the Eagles will host the game in São Paulo. And 2024 is the season where NFC teams are slated to play an extra home game. That means the Packers will play nine games at Lambeau Field, seven real away games, and a neutral game in Brazil.

Packers will face the Eagles in Brazil’s first NFL game ever

Teams will play in São Paulo in week 1