Moral Victory Crew (Pats) Lose Third Straight Opener-25-20-To Eagles With TB12 At Gillette

 

    Like any reasonable person, my expectations for the Patriots are very low entering the 2023 season. They look far more destined for last place in the loaded AFC East (the toughest division in football?) instead of a much needed return to the playoffs. This afternoon at rainy Gillette Stadium, they put forth a decent effort but predictably fell short against the more talented and deeper Eagles 25-20. The fact that Tom Brady was in the building for a halftime ceremony only underlined the main point: this team is far away from their glory days and sadly, they do not appear to be getting any closer to the level of say a team like Philadelphia which lost in last season's Super Bowl to Kansas City. Sure, New England's new/old offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is a marked improvement over head coach Bill Belichick's lackey Matt Patricia but it is tough to win when you spot a quality opponent a 16-0 lead in the first quarter. 

    It got better from there as the Pats cut it to 16-14 Eagles at halftime and they were down 25-20 late in the fourth quarter with multiple chances to steal a victory but they could not take advantage of Philly actively trying to give the game away to them. Just like in the past few years, New England is better at finding ways to lose and/or beat themselves rather than winning like they used to quite often when Brady was a Patriot. It is undoubtedly a huge season (his 3rd in the NFL) for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (35-of-54 for 316 yards, 3 TDs, INT) as the team can fully assess if he is a true franchise quarterback or just an average player that is inherently replaceable. On paper, his numbers looked very solid but the interception was a pick-6 by Philly's star cornerback Darius Slay that went for 70 yards and gave the Eagles an early 10-0 lead. 

    We worry about New England's lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball these days, they have nothing close to Philly's excellent wide receiver duo of A.J. Brown (7 catches, 79 yards) and DeVonta Smith (7 catches, 47 yards, TD). Pats receiver Kendrick Bourne (6 catches, 64 yards, 2 TDs) did flash his ability that was largely stapled to the sideline (for whatever goofy reason) last season. While he is not a true No. 1 WR, he has good chemistry with Jones which should mean something. New England figures to be a solid running team but they are not going to beat many teams when they combine for a pedestrian 76 yards rushing like they did today. In his Patriots debut, Ezekiel Elliott (7 carries, 29 yards; 5 catches, 14 yards) had a costly fumble that directly led to Smith's five-yard TD catch from Eagles star quarterback (and Mac's old buddy from Alabama) Jalen Hurts (22-of-33 for 170 yards, TD; 9 carries, 37 yards rushing) that made it 16-0 Eagles (Jake Elliott missed the PAT after earlier hitting a 32-yard field goal). If New England is going to be any good in 2023, they need another huge campaign from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and his outing today could best be described as uneven: he was completely bottled up running the ball (12 carries, 25 yards rushing) but he somewhat made up for that with six catches for 64 yards which included New England's longest play of the day-a 32-yard catch and run that was all thanks to his elusiveness and speed in the open field.

Pats tight end-and newly elected captain-Hunter Henry finally got them some points with his nine-yard touchdown catch from Jones late in the first half. Rookie kicker Chad Ryland added the point after for his first career point in the NFL. New England got the ball back before halftime and cashed in with Jones' best throw of the day: a 19-yard dart to Bourne in the end zone that coupled with Ryland's second PAT cut it to 16-14 Philadelphia at the break. Elliott is one of the best kickers in the league and he showed off that ability with a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter followed by 48 (off the goal post and in) and 51-yard kicks in the fourth quarter which put the Eagles back in front by two scores (25-14). Bourne once again answered the call with another clutch snag-an 11-yard touchdown catch where he got his feet down inbounds in the back of the end zone. The Pats went for two points and appeared to convert it when Mac ran it in but that was of course called back for holding. Their second shot at it obviously ended with an incomplete pass. 

    Safety Jabrill Peppers gave the Pats a chance to win it late in the fourth quarter when he forced a fumble by Hurts that was recovered by cornerback Marcus Jones. New England turned it over on downs on that drive but they surprisingly got one final chance to win it after Philly made the stupid decision to throw it (incomplete) on 4th-and-2 from midfield. Mac's arm will never be elite and that really shows up in tight contests like this where he cannot complete throws that top level NFL quarterbacks have to be able to routinely make. He is also not nearly athletic enough like a Hurts to make up for that glaring weakness. Being smart, tough and a a good teammate only gets you so far at the toughest position in sports. On the bright side, New England's first round pick this past spring-cornerback Christian Gonzalez looked very legit in his first NFL game. He had five tackles, two assists, a sack (!!!) and a pass deflected. Most importantly, he bounced back from a few mistakes and did not shy away from competing against some of the best receivers in the league. 

    Things do not get any easier for the Pats though as they host the Dolphins (1-0) back at Gillette Stadium for Sunday Night Football (8:20, NBC). Miami beat the Chargers (0-1) 36-34 in a track meet this afternoon on the West Coast. Mac faces another Crimson Tide pal Tua Tagovailoa (466 passing yards, 3 TDs) who went crazy against LA along with his top target-wide receiver Tyreek Hill (11 catches, 215 yards, 2 TDs) who is still probably the most explosive wideout in the NFL. Tua has missed plenty of time in his young pro career due to injuries but he has never lost to the Patriots and Miami is expected to be a playoff team again-if he can finally stay healthy-this season. Regardless of who they have played, an 0-2 start for New England would be pretty grim since both of those games were at home where you have to find a way to win at least one of them.

Longtime Patriots Safety Patrick Chung Signed a Two-Year Extension to Remain In New England

Not that anyone has really noticed besides your grandfather but the 2020 MLB regular season has yet to start while the 2019-20 NBA and NHL regular seasons have been paused now for more than two months while we all deal with this endless nightmare called Covid-19 aka the 'Rona. Since they have more time to plan and see what the world looks like this fall, I have the most faith (along with the stubborn meathead nature of Roger Goodell) that there will be some form of the NFL in 2020-most likely without fans. That's why talking about NFL news and moves seems most relevant these days versus the other leagues that all still seem very far away from getting back on their respective fields, courts and rinks for any games that actually count.

With that said, the Patriots might be in rebuild mode but at least whenever they fully return to work, we can be confident that they possess one of the best safety groups in the entire NFL. Today they signed veteran Patrick Chung to a two-year extension (through 2023) which means that the 32-year-old is basically guaranteed to end his productive career where it all started: in Foxborough. With their top pick (2nd round, 37th overall after they traded away their 1st round pick) from last month's NFL Draft Kyle Dugger (a safety from Division 2 Lenoir-Rhyne) unsigned, the Chung move allowed the Pats to free up $925,000 in cap space. Keep in mind that their best safety-captain Devin McCourty-also signed an extension earlier during the pandemic which truthfully feels like it happened about three years ago.

It's hard to believe but this will be Chung's 12th season in the NFL so anytime a non-kicker, punter or backup QB reaches double-digit years in the league, you know that the clock is really starting to wind down. For being a solid player, he received a $3 million signing bonus which added to his $1.1 million salary for 2020 makes for a nice payday. By nature, NFL contracts (particularly for the detail-oriented Patriots) are always very tough to comprehend if you're not a lawyer, player agent or Bill Belichick. The former Oregon Duck can also earn up to $800,000 in per-game roster bonuses and a $100,000 workout bonus. Should Chung choose to play beyond this season, 2021-2023 would have the identical setup money-wise: base salary of $1.9 million, up to $400,000 per-game roster bonuses, $200,000 in incentives and a $100,000 workout bonus.

For many reasons both on the field and off the field, Chung has had a unique journey with the Patriots. He was drafted in the 2nd round (34th overall) in 2009 and had an up-and-down first four seasons for the Pats, probably because he missed a bunch of games with injuries (playing only 8 games in 2011 and 12 games the next year). From there, he went to the Eagles for one mostly nondescript season in 2013 (39 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles & 1 fumble recovery in 12 games) before surprisingly returning to New England where he's been tough, dependable and consistent in his second go-around. In the last six seasons here, he's only missed five total regular season games which is a rather incredible change from his early days.

He's never been (and will never be) a Pro Bowler but he is on the next tier of quality players that every good football team needs to have in droves to compliment its stars. Chung is not big in stature (5-foot-11, 215 pounds) by the NFL's superhuman standards but he's athletic enough to be able to cover tight ends and be close to the line of scrimmage to help defend wide receivers and running backs in the short passing game. He has appeared in three Super Bowls with the Patriots and is a two-time champion.

Last summer ironically might have been his most notable headline as a Patriot when he got busted with a mountain of cocaine in his lake house in New Hampshire. Somehow, someway that was mostly swept under the rug (pun totally intended) and he never went to jail nor has been suspended by the league for it. I just think that's notable in terms of ways that Chung wants to celebrate this deal under quarantine. Granted, I'm not advocating for it but couldn't we all use a little booger sugar right now to get away from our troubles for a bit? Haha just kidding, stay in school (remember those?) kids!

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The First 4-7 Dream Team In The History Of The World Falls 38-20 To The Patriots

It's hard to remember an NFL game that completely changed faster (not involving an injury) than today's Patriots-Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles (4-7) jumped out to a 10-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game but the Patriots (8-3) responded with a UConn women's basketball style 38-3 scoring run in an eventual 38-20 victory.

New England is now tied atop the AFC with Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston for the best record in the AFC.

Tom Brady (24 of 34, 361 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs and 27 yards rushing-his most in 5 years!) tied Peyton Manning with his eighth career 350+ yard, 3 TD, 0 INT performance in New England's third straight win. Embattled Pats offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien had one of his finest hours as Brady found Deion Branch (6 catches, 125 yards) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 115 yards, 2 TDs) early and often.

Aaron Hernandez (6 catches, 62 yards) and Rob Gronkowski (4 catches, 59 yards, TD) also had nice games. For anyone that missed Chad Johnson (nobody), who was home nursing a "hamstring injury," recently signed Tiquan Underwood (known mostly for his flat top) did his best Ochocinco impression by dropping a sure TD on his only target.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis (14 carries, 44 yards) didn't churn up the yards but he scored two rushing touchdowns to give New England's offense some balance.

Philadelphia is nothing short of a train wreck and by the third quarter, the loyal Birds fans were chanting "fire Andy (Reid)!" so loud that viewers could hear it on CBS' broadcast.

If it is possible to have a quiet 400-yard passing game, Eagles backup quarterback Vince Young (26 of 48, 400 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) submitted it. VY was the poor soul who dubbed this low rent version of the 2011 Red Sox the "Dream Team" in the preseason so I guess it was only fitting he was at the helm for a game that featured some of Philly's favorite type of miscues: throwing it unsuccessfully from the 1 on 4th and 1 and numerous drops by DeSean Jackson (4 catches, 73 yards).

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (10 carries, 31 yards; 4 catches, 30 yards) is one of the premier players in the NFL at his position but I guess nobody told the Eagles that since he didn't get the ball nearly enough when this game was still somewhat competitive.

Jason Avant (8 catches, 110 yards, TD) was the Eagles best receiver which is never good news for Philly, even with Jeremy Maclin sidelined.

Defensive standouts for the Patriots included Antwaun Molden (first interception with New England), Kyle Arrington (10 solo tackles) and Rob Ninkovich (3 solo tackles, sack and 2 tackles for loss).

McCoy's 2-yard touchdown run and a 42-yard field goal by Alex Henery gave Philadelphia a 10-0 lead at 8:19 in the first quarter. New England responded with a long drive, punctuated by Green-Ellis' 4-yard touchdown run.

A 2-yard TD run by Green-Ellis early in the second quarter gave the Pats a 14-10 lead, one that they would never relinquish. The Eagles were fooled badly on a play action fake and Welker got loose for a 41-yard TD catch.

Henery's 22-yard field goal cut it to 21-13 but Stephen Gostkowski atoned for an earlier miss from 39 yards with a 45-yard kick before halftime. The Patriots led 24-13.

After Welker's 9-yard catch and run, diving just inside the pylon, made it 31-13 to start the third quarter, it was over.

Gronk added a 24-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter before Avant scored on a 1-yard catch with 32 seconds left and most of the crowd long gone.

I don't normally give the Pats an automatic win a week before kickoff but they are facing the 0-11 Indianapolis Colts next Sunday (1 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium. With Curtis Painter still under center, Indy is doing everything in its power to ensure a winless season and the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft (Stanford QB Andrew Luck) next April. New England will roll and Brian Hoyer should see even more playing time than he did today.

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Patriots-Eagles Injury Report

With Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the last few days have been a turkey-induced haze but I'm really looking forward to the Patriots-Eagles game on Sunday.

At 4-6, Philadelphia basically has to win the rest of its games and that begins at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field against the Patriots (7-3). The so called Dream Team-copyright Vince Young-has struggled in the NFC East and even more so when it comes to protecting fourth quarter leads.

With a bunch of college friends from Philly and South Jersey, I know my share of Eagles fans and I have to say as an outsider, they are one of the more interesting teams in the NFL to watch. The city is obsessed with the team and that makes their games exciting. The fans are passionate and extremely knowledgeable.

For the Pats, linebackers Brandon Spikes (knee) and Dane Fletcher (thumb) have already been ruled out. Wide receivers Deion Branch (hip), Taylor Price (hamstring), Matthew Slater (shoulder) and Chad Ochocinco (hamstring) are all questionable. Safeties Patrick Chung (foot) and James Ihedigbo (shoulder) are questionable. Center Dan Connolly (groin), tackles Matt Light (ankle) and Sebastian Vollmer (back) are questionable. Cornerback Devin McCourty (shoulder) is the 11th Patriot that is questionable.

Speaking of VY, he's expected to start his second straight game after Michael Vick (broken ribs) didn't practice this week. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (hamstring, shoulder) is doubtful while cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha (knee) and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle) along Vick are all questionable. Offensive lineman King Dunlap (concussion) is out.

With running back LeSean McCoy, arguably the NFL's most complete back, and wide receiver DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia possesses two of the more explosive players in the league. The Patriots defense will be challenged, regardless if Young starts and Maclin doesn't play.

UPDATE 11/26: New England has ruled Chung, McCourty, Connolly and Ochocinco out for tomorrow. James Ihedigbo and Sterling Moore figure to start at safety for the third straight week, Antwaun Molden will make his second consecutive start, Ryan Wendell will be the center while Price, Julian Edelman and Slater figure to see more time at wide receiver with Ochocinco out.

I also saw a report on NESN tonight that Vick has been ruled out and I saw on Twitter that Maclin is out too, no surprises there.

UPDATE 11/27: Wow, reports are filtering out now that Asomugha will play. I'm shocked, it sounded like he got seriously hurt in practice on Thursday. Rodgers-Cromartie is inactive for the Birds while Ryan Mallett is the final Patriot that will be inactive.

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A.J. Feeley has the game of his life and still loses

A.J. Feeley threw a pick-six on his second pass of the game and ended the game with two straight interceptions. Between those predictable mistakes, he picked the Patriots suddenly flawed defense apart and almost led the Eagles to the upset of the season. New England (11-0) however made just enough plays to hold down Philadelphia (5-6), 31-28 at Gillette last night.

It was clear that both teams stressed containing the other team's stars: Eagles running back Brian Westbrook had 52 yards rushing (1 TD) and 40 yards receiving while Pats receiver Randy Moss was held to five catches and 43 yards. One of the main differences between the two teams is that while Moss certainly wasn't himself, New England has enough other standouts (Wes Welker, Tom Brady and Asante Samuel to name a few) to make up for off-nights by many other teammates. Playing without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles needed a perfect game from Feeley to compete with the Patriots and he almost did the unthinkable by beating them. The Eagles just don't have enough game-breakers outside of Westbrook. And if you feel bad for Feeley, don't. He gets to come home to Heather Mitts (US women's soccer player, pictured below) every day.

Samuel took the first Feeley pick back 40 yards for a score on the game's third play and it looked like the shell-shocked Eagles would simply rollover for the Patriots. Not a chance. Philadelphia came out with their usual defensive game-plan (to blitz a ton) and the key for them was that they were able to move the ball on offense freely thus keeping Tom Brady and Co. off the field.

For instance, after the Samuel score, the Eagles took the ball 77 yards in 14 plays which took seven minutes. Westbrook punched it in from the 1-yard line to tie it up. New England answered with a 10 play, 78-yard drive (taking 5:08) that ended with a Heath Evans one-yard dive.

The Eagles would not go away as Greg Lewis caught a 28-yard TD pass from Feeley in the beginning of the second quarter. They showed unbelievable balls on the next play as they went for and recovered an onside kick. Even though they ended up punting on that drive, you could tell that on this night it was going to be pretty hard to put away this well-coached and experienced team.

The Pats had a good drive stall in the red zone so Stephen Gostowski hit a field goal from 23 yards to put New England up 17-14. Once again, the Eagles responded as Lewis caught another score, this one from 18 yards out (he finished with 4 catches for 88 yards). With three minutes left on the clock, the Eagles left too much time on the clock for the Pats offense (one of the few mistakes they made all night). Brady finished off that drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney, who has reappeared in the last two games after being MIA since last year's playoffs. The touchdown turned out to be Brady's only score of the game. It went to halftime with the Pats up 24-21 (the final score of the Super Bowl between these two teams).

In the second half, the Patriots changed up their offense (they had only run it twice in the first half) but went three-and-out on their first possession. Laurence Maroney got the nod from off the bench and broke a few decent runs but Gostowski missed a 32-yard field goal the next time the Pats had the ball. The Eagles had another great drive (10 plays, 78 yards) topped off by a 8-yard toss from Feeley to Reggie Brown. The Eagles were up 28-24 going into the fourth quarter.
New England went to work on offense and scored the game-winning touchdown (10 plays, 69 yards) on a Maroney 4-yard scamper. There were some tense moments as the Eagles drove down into Patriots territory looking for the tying field goal or go-ahead touchdown. Feeley made his other terrible decision as he overthrow a receiver in the end zone and Samuel picked off his second pass. Philly got it back one more time but they had no timeouts left (bad coaching) and James Sanders picked off one last Feeley pass.

Feeley was 27 of 42 for 345 yards with 3 TD's and 3 INT's. Other than Lewis, Kevin Curtis was the other receiving threat (5 catches for 71 yards). Brady finished 34 of 54 for 380 yards with the one touchdown. Maroney had 31 yards on just 10 carries. If Samuel was the defensive player of the game, Wes Welker got the game ball for his efforts on offense. He was unstoppable out of the slot, on short passes. He caught a career-high 13 passes for 149 yards, which is the second-highest total for a game in Pats history (behind Troy Brown's 16 in 2002). Gaffney had six catches for 87 yards, Stallworth had four catches for 57 yards.

Probably the only reason the Pats won was because they forced three Philly turnovers while recording zero themselves. The good that will come out of this game is plentiful. The Pats saw that while they've had an amazing start, they're not invincible. When they don't execute well (7 penalties for 44 yards) and a determined opponent comes in with a solid game-plan, they can lose. Most worrisome in the game was the Patriots secondary which looked extremely vulnerable to in-routes (as Madden pointed out) and couldn't stop a bunch of average Eagles receivers. They made Feeley look like a Pro-Bowler and not the career backup he's been. Also, while it was a function of the Pats calls in the first half, they have to make a more conscious effort to run the ball more. When the weather gets worse (ie. rain and snow), you can't pass it 50+ times and beat a good team in the playoffs.

With all that said, probably the best of both worlds happened for the Patriots in this game. They won and remained unbeaten while also giving their diligent coaches plenty to harp on in the coming weeks. This might be the kick in the pants this team needed to get through the rest of the year. It's too early to start making the DVD but if the Pats do end up winning the Super Bowl, this game has the feeling of a turning point in the action. Just a thought.

New England travels to Baltimore (4-7) next Monday for their third straight primetime game. The Ravens have looked horrible in the last few weeks and Kyle Boller is the starting quarterback. Look for the Pats to wake up with authority next week.