FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The defense sparked the Eagles early on this rainy afternoon filled with celebrities, turnovers and swings of momentum Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
It also helped the Super Bowl runner ups finish, although not convincingly, in their 25-20 win over a England Patriots team coming off a losing season.
The Eagles grabbed a shocking 16-point lead over Bill Belichick and were on the verge of turning the contest into a laugher. But the offense and the defense faded, and ultimately kicker Jake Elliott had to save them with four field goals to make up for a missed PAT in their season openier. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for just one touchdown and was basically a nonfactor in the run game. Tight end Dallas Goedert had just one target and zero catches.
“They made it hard for us to get the ball to our playmakers,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “And that’s what a defense like that usually does is try to take away your good playmakers, so we had to get it to the other guys.”
It was a game of highs and lows for Jalen Hurts and the Philly offense. Hurts certainly isn’t used to getting stopped on third-and-goal at the six-yard line, as he was Sunday when Matt Judon sacked him. That led to a 32-yard field goal by Elliott.
Fortunately for the Eagles, Darius Slay came up with a big play on the first series. Slay collected a Mac Jones throw tipped by intended receiver Kendrick Bourne and ran 70 yards untouched for the third pick-six of his career, the last two with the Eagles.
It snuffed the early momentum the Patriots had and turned a tentative 3-0 lead into a 10-0 advantage.
Not long afterward, Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis tossed former Cowboys running back Zeke Elliott like a ragdoll, Zach Cunningham recovering at the 26 of the Patriots. Four snaps later Hurts found DeVonta Smith in the end zone for an easy score making it 16-0, as Elliott was wide on the PAT.
The Patriots bounced back on Jones’ touchdown passes of nine yards to Hunter Henry and 19 to Bourne, the latter with 16 seconds left in the half, to get within 16-14 at the intermission.
The Eagles committed two costly penalties in the second quarter, as Jack Stoll’s chop block blew up a possession and Patrick Johnson’s ineligible man downfield lopped 10 points off an Aaryn Siposs punt, shortening the scoring drive capped by Bourne.
Elliott stepped up with a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter to stake the Birds to a 19-14 advantage. It was the third-longest of his career.
In the final frame, Elliott boomed a 48-yarder that, while not as impressive as the longer shot, convinced Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to gamble instead of kicking a field goal of his own.
The Eagles flirted with disaster in the final frame. Defensive tackle Milton Williams’ roughing the passer penalty gave the Patriots a first down at the Eagles’ 38 with a little less than 13 minutes remaining.
The Patriots reached the 18, but Haason Reddick’s pressure blew up Jones on fourth-and-8, the throw falling incomplete.
The Eagles kept chipping away. An apparent 48-yard catch by AJ Brown was overruled upon review by referee Shawn Hochuli, who said Brown didn’t have control of the ball. That made it second and 10 from the 17-yard line with 9:24 remaining.
Hurts and Brown wouldn’t be denied, as they dinked and dunked the Eagles to set Elliott up for a 51-yard field goal, the 21st of his career from 50-plus yards. That gave the Eagles a 25-14 cushion with 5:38 to go.
They would need it. Jones capped a six-play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard scoring pass to Bourne. The two-point conversion was nullified by a hold, leaving the Eagles a 25-20 advantage with 3:35 remaining.
With 3:28 left, Patriots safety Julius Peppers popped the ball out from Hurts on a keeper, and Marcus Jones recovered at the 41.
Davis and Josh Sweat stepped up for a seven-yard sack of Jones, and after a delay of game penalty put the Patriots in fourth-and-17 at their own 48-yard line, Hunter Henry dropped a throw short of a first down and the Eagles took over with 2:20 left
The Patriots had one last shot as they stopped the Eagles on fourth-and-2 at their own 44-yard line, a curious decision from Nick Sirianni. Eagles rookie first round pick Jalen Carter’s made his first NFL sack memorable, wrapping up Jones on third-and-13 at the 22 with 51 seconds left. On fourth-and-11, receiver Kayshon Boutte couldn’t get both feet down on a reception, resulting in New England’s third turnover on downs.
Source: Berkshire mont