New England Patriots fall in close battle vs the Philadelphia Eagles
Written by Karver Jordan
The New England Patriots would fall in a close battle vs the Philadelphia Eagles. This young New England Patriots team played a good game after the first quarter, Early mistakes would end up hurting the Patriots in the week one loss. In this article, I will be talking about my thoughts and opinions on the loss.
Patriots offense struggles in first quarter but finish strong
The new and improved Patriots offense seemed to struggle in the first quarter due to the weather, which caused lots of drops by the veteran wide outs. Mac Jones tried hitting Kendrick Bourne on a hitch route but the pass was way too high. Bourne popped it up and it was returned for Pick six by Eagles veteran defensive back Darius Slay. The very next drive was absolutely atrocious, Ezekiel Elliott fumbled the ball off a screen pass inside our own 30 yard line. A big mistake that gave the Eagles an early 16-0 lead.
Bill O’Brien made a few adjustments to the Patriots offense and you could tell the difference in the next three quarters. Mac Jones looked way better, Jones completed 35 of his 54 passes for 316 yards with three touchdowns. The third year QB favorite targets were Kendrick Bourne, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Hunter Henry; All three of the targets recorded five or more receptions. Bourne had six receptions for 64 yards with two touchdowns, The veteran wideout finally got the chance to unleash his talent after being in the “Dog House” last year. Hunter Henry continued to be Mac Jones’ safety blanket, and recorded five receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown. Expect a big year from the Patriots tight end as the season progresses.
The Patriots offensive line was without some key starters in Cole Strange (OG) and Mike Onwenu (OG). The OLine played pretty solid vs arguably the best defensive line in the league. Mac Jones was only sacked two times, and only a limited amount of pressure.
Patriots defense stays stride for stride with tough Eagles offense
The whole Patriots defense deserves a pat on the back due to their performance vs the Eagles. Steve Belichick and this young Patriots defense held the Eagles to only 251 total yards on offense. The front seven was creating pressure on star QB Jalen Hurts all game, Keion White the rookie and Matt Judon the veteran made it tough on Jalen Hurts to find receivers deep due to their pass rushes. Matt Judon and Josh Uche would both record sacks on Hurts. The Eagles only had 97 rushing yards all game due to New Englands defensive line playing good.
The Patriots secondary only allowed Jalen Hurts to complete 22 out of his 33 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Christian Gonzalez had himself a game, with seven total tackles and a sack. Gonzalez made a big play on fourth down late in the fourth quarter to give New England another chance to score, the rookie stepped up big vs AJ Brown who is one of the best Wideouts in the league.
Karvers Final thoughts:
I think the Patriots played a phenomenal game but couldn’t finish. Some questionable calls were made by Bill Belichick but we move on from that. Overall I feel like most of the New England fanbase is back on the Mac Jones train and are rooting for him now, let the kid settle down with his new OC.
This defense will need to stop the Miami Dolphins high-powered offense on Sunday night football at Home.
More about the writer:
My name is Karver Jordan, I’m a high schooler who is writing in New England. I enjoy sharing my sports knowledge with everyone. My goal is to help get the fans to get a better understanding of Teams, Players, and more. If you enjoyed this piece of writing check me out on Instagram and Twitter!
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