The Philadelphia Eagles spoil Tom Brady’s return to New England, as they defeat the Patriots 25-20 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 

Philadelphia was led by their superstar QB, Jalen Hurts, who passed for 170 yards and a touchdown. The dual-threat QB also ran for 37 yards on 9 attempts. Their great receiving duo of Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown were also big contributors, as they totaled for 14 receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. 

The most crucial factor to the Eagles’ win over the Patriots was their defense. An early interception returned for a touchdown by Darius Slay and a forced fumble by Jordan Davis helped the Eagles quickly gain a 16-0 lead. The defense also made many critical 3^rd and 4^th down stops late in the game to seal the victory. 

Meanwhile, the Patriots were led by their 3^rd year QB in Mac Jones. Jones finished the game with 316 passing yards for 3 touchdowns and an interception. Jones, who received much criticism after struggling last season, showed his development and improvement with new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.  This was Jones’ 4th game with 3 or more touchdown passes.

Tight end Hunter Henry and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne were also crucial parts of the Patriots offense. Henry recorded 5 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown, meanwhile Bourne compliled 6 receptions for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

The Patriots offense was under a microscope throughout this game, as they had issued last year and made offseason moves to improve the offensive personnel. With the performance against the dominant Eagles’ defense, head coach Bill Belichick believes the offense is headed in the right direction. 

“I thought all of our skill players were productive,” said Belichick. “All of the receivers, the tight ends, backs, good production from all those guys”. 

Though New England started the game turning the ball over twice and had issues with penalties, they were able to compete with last year’s Super Bowl runners-up. With this performance, many believe that the Patriots could be a difficult team to beat if they clean up on their mistakes. 

“There are no moral victories,” said David Andrews. “You got to execute at your best against a good football team when it counts the most. That’s what it comes down to and that’s how you win close football games against good teams. We just got to do better at that”. 

Game Recap

The Philadelphia Eagles started the game by traveling 69 yards downfield into Patriots territory at the 6-yard line. After Jalen Hurts was sacked for 8 yards by Matthew Judon, the Eagles’ Jake Elliott kicked a 32-yard field goal to take the early 3-0 lead in the 1^st quarter with 7:42 left. 

On New England’s first possession, they achieved a 1^st down after a 2-yard rush from Rhamondre Stevenson and a 9-yard completion from Mac Jones to Hunter Henry. Then after a pass incompletion to Demario Douglas, Jones threw his 1^st interception of the year when Darius Slay picked off a pass that bounced off the hands of Kendrick Bourne and ran it back 70 yards for a touchdown. This extended the Eagles’ lead to 10 with 4:56 remaining in the 1^st quarter.  

On the Patriots very next play, Ezekiel Elliott fumbled after a short pass reception on the New England’s 25-yard line. The fumble was forced by Jordan Davis and recovered by Zach Cunnigham. The Eagles would quickly take advantage of the takeaway by scoring a touchdown when Jalen Hurts completed a 5-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, but Elliott would miss the PAT to only push the lead to 16 with 2:39 in the 1^st quarter. 

Both teams would then struggle to gain a 1^st down, after they combined for six straight 3-and-outs. The Patriots would end this drought by going on a 10-play 4:48 scoring drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Henry. This score closed the deficit to nine points, as the Eagles led 16-7 in the 2^nd quarter with 4:34 remaining.  

New England would force the Eagles to punt for their 4^th straight possession after a chop block penalty pushed them 14 yards in the opposite direction. The Patriots would respond by moving 44 yards downfield, as Jones completed four passes in a row. They then capped off this drive with a touchdown when Jones threw a 19-yard pass to Bourne and after a good PAT from Chad Ryland, the score stood at 16-14 going into halftime. 

The Patriots would go 3-and-out on their opening drive of the 2^nd half and punt to Philadelphia. The Eagles quickly would gain momentum after the punt, as Hurts threw a 15-yard pass to A.J. Brown. Shortly after, Hurts would continue to lead the Eagles downfield until a 10-yard holding penalty stopped them in their tracks. They would fail to gain a 1^st down after the penalty, but Elliott would make a 56-yard field goal to push the lead to 5, as Philadelphia led 19-14 with 8:48 left in the 3^rd quarter. 

On the following drive, New England moved 24 yards down the field after 2 pass completions by Jones. The Patriots would continue to travel into Philadelphia territory, but after an offensive holding penalty, they were pushed 10 yards back. After being pushed out of field goal range they were forced to punt. 

The Eagles took advantage of the defensive stop by going 50 yards down the field in 11 plays in 4:22 to score another field goal, as Elliot completed a 48-yard kick. This field goal extended the Eagles lead to 8, as Philly led 22-14 with 13:21 remaining in the 4^th quarter. 

The Patriots would put together a good drive, which featured a one hand catch by Henry for a fourth down conversion. But, after a 5-yard completion, the Patriots would fail to get another 1^st down after being stuffed at the line twice. In an interesting decision, the Patriots decided to go for it again on 4^th down, instead of kicking a short field goal. They failed to get their second 4^th down conversion this drive, as Jones threw an incompletion after being pressured by Brandon Graham with 9:32 left in the 4^th quarter. 

The Eagles offense would then respond to the turnover on downs by gaining 50 yards in 7 plays. An 8-yard sack from Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez kept Philadelphia from gaining a 1^st down. The Eagles would then send out Elliott again to make a 51-yard field to push the score to 25-14 for an 11-point Philly lead with 5:33 left in the 4^th. 

New England would respond quickly to the Eagles score, as they went on a 6-play 75-yard scoring drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Bourne. The Patriots would go for the 2-point conversion, but an offensive holding penalty would ruin their efforts. With 3:37 left in the game, the Eagles lead 25-20. 

On the Eagles’ next play, Hurts ran a QB draw and was crushed by Jabrill Peppers, who popped the ball out causing a fumble recovered by Marcus Jones at the Eagles 41-yard line. 

The Patriots’ offense could not take advantage of the turnover or good field position, as they went 4-and-out and handed the ball back to Philly with 2:17 remaining in the game. 

After 3 rushing attempts got stuffed by the Patriots defense, the Eagles went for it on 4^th down to seal the game, but Gonzalez would deflect Hurts’ pass attempt to Smith to give the Patriots another chance to take the lead with 1:57 left in the game. 

New England would gain a 1^st down when Stevenson ran for 4 yards and tackled at the Eagles’ 43-yard line. Jones would then scramble for 7 yards to move the Pats to the Eagles’ 36-yard line. On 2^nd down, Jones completed a 17-yard pass to Mike Gesicki, who ran out of bounds at the Eagles’ 19-yard line. After an incompletion and a 3-yard sack by Jalen Carter, the Patriots were on 3^rd and 13 at the Eagles’ 22 yard with 51 seconds remaining. Jones completed a 2-yard pass to Steveson, who failed to evade tackles and was stopped at the Eagles’ 20-yard line. With the game on the line on 4^th down, Jones threw a pass to Kayshon Boutte, which would have been good 1^st down, but Boutte could not get his 2^nd foot in bounds ending the game for the Patriots. 

Next Up 

The New England Patriots are staying at home next week, as they face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles play their first home game of the season, as they welcome the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.