Eagles Escape Week 1 With an Ugly Win Over the Patriots
It was not the well-oiled machine we saw last season. At times it was downright ugly. The offense got stagnant, and the defense was being picked on over the middle of the field. But the Eagles still escaped week 1 with a 25-20 win over the Patriots.
With a banged-up Patriots O-line, you would have assumed the Eagles’ prolific group of Pass Rushers would get after Mac Jones all day. They did not. You would have assumed the best WR duo in the league could put up big numbers on a Patriots Secondary that were near the bottom of the league in TDs allowed last season. They didn’t quite do that either. The rust on both sides of the field was evident. And fans were left frustrated by some conservative play calling on offense.
The Eagles actually got off to a hot start. Two turnovers in the first quarter helped the Eagles build up a 16-0 lead. But then the wheels came off. The Patriots put up 14 unanswered points, and the Eagles had 3 straight 3-and-outs. The second half went better. They put together 3 drives ending in field goals and built up a 12-point lead again.
But then things got messy when they almost let the Patriots back in it again. They let the Patriots go down for a quick touchdown to make it a 5 point game. Then Jalen Hurts coughed it up the next drive, giving the Patriots a chance to go ahead late. Thankfully the defense got the stop. And then they got another stop when the Eagles offense couldn’t run out the clock. They got their first 2 sacks of the game, including the first of Jalen Carter’s career, and sealed the win.
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It is not what we wanted to see. But it is a win. And you may remember week 1 last season where we left panicked about the defense. By week 2 everyone had settled in and we never really got concerned about the team again. Many of the top teams, like the Bengals and Chiefs, didn’t get a win in week 1. They would much prefer to be in the Eagles situation right now. Not many teams besides the 49ers are leaving week 1 feeling great about how they played. They got the win, you can focus on looking better next game.
They don’t have much time to figure things out though. The Eagles next play on Thursday Night when the Vikings come to town, who did not escape week 1 with a win.
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