Eagles vs. Patriots Recap
The Philadelphia Eagles narrowly beat the New England Patriots by a score of 25-20. The Eagles dominated in the 1st quarter, building a quick 16 point lead before the Patriots answered in the 2nd quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points. The game would come down to New England’s last drive, which fell short after the Eagles defense forced a turnover on downs on their own end of the field. Overall this was a sloppy game; weather was certainly a factor as rain fell throughout the game. The Eagles offense matched the weather conditions, as they looked sluggish for the final 3 quarters.
Positives
1.) Jalen Carter
Carter showcased exactly why the Eagles drafted him during the game; he was consistently disruptive and seemed to be living in the Patriots’ backfield. He racked up 8 pressures, 1 sack, and had the 5th highest grade (92.1) among all NFL defensive players. In addition, Carter’s 8 pressures are the most generated by a rookie in any game over the last 5 seasons; the Eagles made the right decision by drafting him.
2.) Jordan Davis
Davis had a great game, boasting 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 TFL, 0.5 sack, and an 85.3 PFF grade. In addition, he used his hands more and relied more heavily on technique than he did last year. Davis didn’t quite live up to the expectations set for him by Eagles fans in his rookie year, but his sophomore season debut was a success.
Negatives
1.) Personnel
I love Kenny Gainwell just as much as the next guy, but there is no reason why he should receive 14 carries while D’Andre Swift only receives 1. After hearing that the Eagles were going to be a running back committee team, it was confusing to see Gainwell have that big of a role in the offense. Although I think that Gainwell is a good player, I would have liked to see Swift featured more in the offense.
2.) Offense
Aside from the 16-point explosion in the 1st quarter, the Eagles offense stalled for the majority of the game. The offense accumulated only 251 total yards throughout the game; a stark difference from last year’s team. Although the weather certainly played a factor, along with this being Brian Johnson’s first game as an Offensive Coordinator, the team simply looked unprepared offensively.
In addition, Jalen Hurts didn’t look great; he missed some reads and made some poor throws. He didn’t look nearly as explosive in the running game, rushing for only 37 yards on 9 attempts, in addition to fumbling with 3:28 left in the 2nd quarter. Although Hurts wasn’t awful this game, he still left much to be desired in Sunday’s game.
3.) Offensive Line
The Eagles offensive line had a rare off day on Sunday; they gave up 3 sacks and allowed Hurts to be pressured on a whopping 38.9% of his pass attempts. I truly can’t remember the last time that the Eagles offensive line played that poorly; even Lane Johnson struggled, allowing 6 total pressures throughout the game. Although I fully expect Jeff Stoutland to get this unit right for their game on Thursday, the offensive line was certainly a disappointment.
Upcoming Opponent
The Eagles (1-0) host the Minnesota Vikings (0-1) for their home opener of the 2023 NFL season. Minnesota is coming off of a close 20-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, and look to earn their first win of the season. The Eagles are coming into this game shorthanded, as CB James Bradberry, S Reed Blankenship, LB Nakobe Dean, and RB Kenny Gainwell are all out due to various injuries.
This will be a tough game for Philadelphia; the Patriots game showed some glaring weaknesses in the Eagles defense, mainly at Linebacker and Safety. With the injuries to Blankenship and Dean, these weaknesses just became much more serious. I expect Minnesota to look to their star, Justin Jefferson, over the middle of the field early. With that being said, I think that the Eagles offense starts to find their rhythm in this game and leads the Eagles to a victory.
Final Prediction: PHI: 31, MIN: 28
NFC East Standings
The Eagles, Commanders, and Cowboys all won this last weekend, while the Giants were shut out against Dallas 40-0. The updated NFC East standings are as follows:
- Dallas Cowboys: 1-0
- Washington Commanders: 1-0
- Philadelphia Eagles: 1-0
- New York Giants: 0-1
Final Thoughts
I’ve seen a decent amount of negativity from Eagles fans after Sunday’s game, and honestly, I get it. Although getting the win is ultimately the most important thing, the Eagles flat-out struggled. It was surprising to see the defending NFC champions look sloppy and unprepared. With that being said, the Eagles will be just fine this season; the majority of Philadelphia’s starters didn’t play in the preseason, and Bill Belichick brought a great game plan. I fully believe that the Eagles will find their footing and gain momentum throughout the season. As always, Go Birds!
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Nate Eichner is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Nate, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
