Green Bay Packers defensive end Kenny Clark wasn’t a fan of the playing surface after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil in their season opener. On Monday, the three-time Pro Bowl player slammed the field conditions during his appearance at Clubhouse Livehosted by Brett Christopherson.
“It was shit, man,” Clark said. “I played in the snow, I played in the rain, I’ve never played on a surface like that.”
“There was clay coming out of the ground. There were holes in the ground. It was a difficult surface to play on.”
The match was played at the Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil, marking the first NFL match in South America. The Corinthians Arena is one of the largest and most popular football stadiums in the country, hosting six matches during the 2014 World Cup.
“I understand footballers can play on it because you can slide quite far on it,” Clark added, half-joking.
While Clark was vocal about his displeasure, the Eagles were faced with the same conditions. Interestingly, Corinthians Arena uses hybrid turf—a mix of real grass and grass fibers—the same type of surface found at both Lambeau Field and Lincoln Financial Field.
Even though both teams had experience playing on similar surfaces, they still had trouble keeping their balance when cutting or planting their feet. Later in the game, players would switch cleats on the touchline, hoping for better traction.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur refused to blame the field for his team’s play.
“I’m not going to make excuses on the field. It was the same on both sides,” LaFleur said.
At the end of the day, the Packers have only themselves to blame for their disappointing loss. They committed a ton of self-inflicted fouls, including 10 penalties, and missed numerous opportunities, scoring just nine points off three turnovers.
