Eagles ace cautious ahead of historic NFL game in Brazil

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Philadelphia Eagles ace Darius Slay criticized the NFL’s decision to play the game in Brazil as his team prepares for Friday’s clash with the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo.

The Eagles will host the Packers at Corinthians Arena on Friday, the first regular-season NFL game ever played in South America as the league expands its reach into new international territories.

However, Eagles quarterback Slay admitted on his “Big Play Slay” podcast that while he is looking forward to the game, he is concerned about crime in Sao Paulo.

“I can’t wait, but man, I don’t want to go to Brazil,” Slay said on the podcast.

“You want to know why? I’ll tell you why. They already told us not to leave the hotel. They told us we couldn’t do much because the crime rate was crazy.

“I thought to myself, ‘NFL, why do you want to send us to a place where the crime rate is so high?'”

Slay added that he had advised his family and loved ones against traveling to Brazil because he had no intention of leaving his hotel.

“I told my family not to come because I’m not going to be there,” Slay said. “I’m going to be sitting in my hotel, relaxing and doing my thing after a long, nine-and-a-half-hour flight.”

Slay’s comments echoed those of Eagles teammate AJ Brown, who said last week that players had been given “a whole bunch of advice on what not to do.”

“So I’m just trying to go out there and win a football game and then go home,” Brown said. “But after hearing all this, I’ll probably just sit in my room,” the recipient added.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Sunday that his players are focused solely on winning the 2024-25 season.

“We’re going there to play and win a football game,” Sirianni said. “That’s our only goal when we go there. It’s about everybody having the right mindset about who we need to be when we go there. You can control the things that you can control.

“We’re going to Brazil to play. That’s what it’s all about. We’re excited about it.”

Friday’s game in Sao Paulo will be the second game of the 2024-2025 season, which begins on Thursday when the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens.

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