Tag: New England Patriots

5 takeaways from Patriots’ 17-10 win over Eagles

Here are five takeaways from the Patriots’ hard-fought win over the Eagles.

The New England Patriots are 9-1 this season, but they still have a ton of room for improvement as the postseason creeps up.

New England defeated the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in a hard-fought 17-10 game. Tom Brady and the offense struggled mightily in the red zone and the defense had a tremendous bounce-back game. The only Patriots touchdown came from a double-pass trick play that was thrown by Julian Edelman. The rest of the points came from Nick Folk field goals — which was definitely a positive from this game.

Brady understands that this offense needs to crank it up a notch before the postseason begins and that the Patriots are currently playing through the most difficult stretch of the schedule. The next three games include the Dallas Cowboy, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. It’ll be a test for this defense and it’ll give the offense a playoff atmosphere to prepare for the postseason.

Here are five takeaways from the game.

Tom Brady has been trending in a negative direction

Either Brady’s age or the lack of protection has led to a steady decline in production for the 42 year old quarterback. With the combination of his 21 incompletions and inability to score in the red zone, Brady has relied heavily on the defense to bail him out.

Brady started off the first five games with ten touchdowns and one interception — he’s had four touchdowns and three interceptions in his last five games. The level of competition likely played a factor, and he’s also without key offensive linemen and his critical blocker with James Develin.

He was visibly frustrated in his press conference after the game and Brady is conscious of the fact that the offense isn’t clicking right now. It doesn’t help that the rushing attack has been non-existent so far this season and that the receiving corps continues to change. N’Keal Harry had a positive debut game for the Patriots and his presence along with Mohamed Sanu should play a huge role heading into the postseason.

Whether it’s Brady’s age or the lack of protection, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have limited time to find a solution.

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The Ravens are the best team in the NFL without question

I’m going out on a bit of a limb here but it’s a pretty thick one after watching the Baltimore Ravens for 10 games.

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After beating up on the Houston Texans 41-7 in Week 11, the Ravens have firmly announced they are the best team in the NFL right now and it’s not even close.

In a game against an opponent leading their division and sitting in the third seed in the AFC playoff picture coming off a bye week, Baltimore didn’t flinch. They pressured Deshaun Watson — an MVP-contending quarterback — all game long, forcing him into big mistakes. They locked down the then-No. 8-ranked scoring offense to just seven points, which came in garbage time. They ran over and around the Texans’ third-ranked rush defense to the tune of 263 yards and a touchdown — more than the entire Texans offense put up. Quarterback Lamar Jackson continued to make his case for the NFL’s MVP award with a 70.8% completion rate, 222 yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions, proving he’s just as deadly through the air as with his legs.

For Houston, this was a complete embarrassment and proved they’re nowhere near Baltimore’s level. But the Texans aren’t alone there this season.

The Ravens have dismantled three of the best teams in the NFL over their last four games. They’ve made the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and now Houston look unprepared, incapable and downright silly, beating them by a combined 108-43. Now keep in mind that those three teams were considered real Super Bowl contenders before getting on a field with Baltimore. And yet the Ravens beat all three teams in the exact same fashion, looking better each week along the way.

The offense is physical yet capable of explosive plays. They’ve punched defenses in the mouth on the ground, even when everyone knows the run is coming. They’ve created mismatches through the air and raced by defenders for huge plays. They’ve used misdirection as an art form.

Jackson has been a huge part of that, earning serious talk as the NFL’s MVP this season. He’s gone 185-of-279 (66.3%) for 2,258 passing yards and nearly a 4-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s added another 788 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. He’s likely on his way to his third consecutive AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

But the defense has been the icing on the cake. The midseason additions of impact players like cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Josh Bynes have turned this defense around completely. After it started the season looking unorganized, confused and just plain bad, there’s a case to be made that it’s now the best defense in the league.

The Ravens are generating a potent pass rush in spite of not having a star pass rusher or enough depth at outside linebacker. They’ve been locking down some of the better receivers in the NFL, with Watson, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady throwing for an average of just 206 yards. At the very least, the Baltimore defense should be considered the most dangerous in the league; it’s notched nine takeaways over the last four games, including five returned for touchdowns. Regardless of what their opponents do well offensively, Baltimore has shut that exact thing down.

What’s the final and perhaps the best argument is that with how young and new the roster still is, this is a team that should actually continue to improve in the final six weeks. As guys like Peters and Bynes get more acclimated to the playbook and their defensive teammates, they should steadily improve their play. Jackson continues to improve each week, both in his awareness and as a passer. The coaching somehow gets better each week as well, with silly mistakes quickly getting eliminated.

With yet another playoff contender checked off their schedule, the Ravens have looked unstoppable over the last four games and seem to be picking up speed with each win.

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It sure seemed like Bill Belichick had ‘fun’ trolling the Eagles after the Patriots’ win

“It looked like everyone had fun out there today.”

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t usually have a lot to say after games but he always seems to understand all the storylines and talking points that are going around his team.

Which makes something that he said during the opening statement of his postgame press conference after Sunday’s win over Philadelphia a little interesting… and fun.

Remember when Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson said shortly after Philly’s Super Bowl win over the Patriots in 2018 that it didn’t seem like Patriots players had any fun playing for the now six-time Super Bowl champs?

Well, Belichick slid this gem into his presser on Sunday, saying: “It looked like everyone had fun out there today.”

It was part of the last line of his opening statement:

Was that done on purpose by Belichick? I’m gonna go with yes, absolutely, because the man always knows what he’s doing and saying “everyone had fun” doesn’t seem like something he’d normally say after a game.

The old football coach decided to have some fun of his own after the game, and it was fantastic.

Well played, Bill Belichick.

Tom Brady has brief but critical postgame presser after win over Eagles

The Patriots won their Week 11 matchup against the Eagles, but Tom Brady wasn’t happy. 

The New England Patriots won their Week 11 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, but Tom Brady wasn’t happy.

Brady finished the game with 216 passing yards and 32.5 quarterback rating — while throwing 21 incompletions. He’s only thrown 21 or more incompletions in 15 games before and the Patriots only won four of those games. The only touchdown of the game came from a Julian Edelman pass, and the rest of the points came from field goals.

Brady had a very brief press conference after the game and he was visibly frustrated after propelling his team to a 9-1 record.

Brady understands that this offense has to improve dramatically if they want to win a Super Bowl this season. New England’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens proved that there is a more complete, talented team in the AFC and that this stellar defensive unit can’t do it themselves.

Here’s a transcript of Brady’s press conference.

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Bill Belichick has plenty of jokes after Julian Edelman TD pass

“Keeps his quarterback rating pretty high.” -Bill Belichick on Julian Edelman

Bill Belichick hopes Julian Edelman gets the proper treatment after Sunday’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11.

The New England Patriots receiver cannot forget to ice his shoulder. Why? Because of his touchdown pass, of course. Though New England’s 17-10 win was hard fought defensive battle, Belichick took a playful tone when discussing Edelman’s touchdown pass in a postgame press conference at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly.

The coach recounted the Patriots’ touchdown-scoring trick play. On a third-and-11 from the 15-yard line, quarterback Tom Brady zipped the ball backward to Edelman in the flat. The former Kent State quarterback spotted and targeted receiver Phillip Dorsett open in the middle of end zone for a touchdown.

“Good read on the play,” Belichick said during a postgame press conference at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. “He checked the crosser and it was open. We had another option, but (Phillip Dorsett) was open. Edelman made a good decision.

“Keeps his quarterback rating pretty high, so I’m that he has to ice his shoulder down this week and massage it and everything else,” the Patriots coach smirked. “That was great. That was a great play by Julian.”

Indeed, Edelman boasts a perfect passer rating on his regular-season career.

Edelman has thrown a touchdown pass in the playoffs, with a throw to former Patriots receiver Danny Amendola in 2015. The 51-yard touchdown helped New England manage a comeback win. Edelman, of course, was a quarterback at Kent State before the Patriots converted him to punt returner and, eventually, to receiver. But that hasn’t stopped Belichick from using the former quarterback’s passing abilities.

After the Patriots’ win on Sunday night, Edelman riffed off his coach’s comments with a post on Twitter: “Time to ice the ole’ wing after that one.”

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Seeing Zach Ertz cry to refs on film gave Stephon Gilmore added confidence

Stephon Gilmore throws a little shade at Zach Ertz after the game.

New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore saw something on game film that gave him supreme confidence in his matchup against Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz.

Gilmore spotted Ertz “crying” to referees in a previous game, according to NESN’s Doug Kyed. Gilmore said after the Patriots’ 17-10 win on Sunday that emotional outburst was reason enough for the cornerback to believe he could get the tight end rattled. While Gilmore handled coverage duties on a number of different Eagles’ pass-catchers on Sunday, he moved to coverage on Ertz on third downs to take away quarterback Carson Wentz’s go-to target in those situations.

The results were good: the Patriots held the Eagles to just 10 points. The Eagles were just 3 of 13 on third downs. Ertz, meanwhile, enjoyed a nice night (9 catches, 94 yards), though his successes came mostly without Gilmore in coverage.

Gilmore, of course, saw more than just emotional appeals to offcials during his film study — the cornerback is a film junkie, and is extremely thorough. He explained what his plans were for his matchups with Ertz, who is an unusual matchup for Gilmore, a cornerback that has spent the entire season on top receivers.

“He’s a tight end. He’s not as fast as some of the guys I cover. If he has a step on me, I can recover real fast. I’ve got to slow myself down a little bit to play him tighter, because I’ve been playing faster guys. So that’s what I did,” Gilmore told reporters, adding that he tried to avoid a physical battle with Ertz, via CLNS’s Evan Lazar. “You’ve got to let him run, because if you fight too physical with him, he’s going to push off. That’s what he’s good at, so you’ve got to be smart.”

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4 takeaways from Eagles 17-10 loss to the Patriots

4 takeaways from Eagles 17-10 loss to the Patriots

The Philadelphia Eagles are now 5-5 on the season after blowing a 10-point lead against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

The Eagles defense showed up in full force and looks to be rounding into form after battering Tom Brady during a dominant first half by Philadelphia. After a late second-quarter touchdown, The Eagles scored zero points and are now a full game behind the Dallas Cowboys in the win column.

With the Seahawks coming to the Linc next Sunday, here are four takeaways from the Birds 17-10 loss to the Patriots.

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1. Eagles aren’t a serious playoff contender without deep threat

Nelson Agholor had four catches for 40-yards, while Zach Ertz led the Birds with nine catches for 94 yards, deep passing yards were hard to come by. The Eagles went away from Miles Sanders after a strong first half. Even with Alshon Jeffery back, this Eagles offense works too hard to gain big chunks of yards.

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N’Keal Harry celebrates on Twitter after 1st career reception in win over Eagles

The Patriots rookie WR shared a few words of celebration on social media.

New England Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry took a moment to celebrate his first NFL reception on Sunday during his team’s 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.

Harry, who the Patriots drafted at 32nd overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, missed the first nine games of the season after starting the year on injured reserve, but debuted in Week 11 when he enjoyed his first reception, an 11-yarder on a slant route. He finished the evening with three catches for 18 yards. His role is sure to increase in the coming weeks as he grows more comfortable at NFL speed.

Bill Belichick has never drafted a receiver as high as the Patriots picked Harry, and so expectations have been high for the young pass-catcher. His performance wasn’t particularly special, but it’s a good sign that he’s on the field after being a healthy scratch in Week 9.

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Winners and losers from Patriots’ hard-fought win over the Eagles

A rough night for Tom Brady and the passing game.

Here are the winners and the losers from the New England Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Stadium on Sunday.

Winner: The Patriots secondary

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz almost doubled his passing yards in the final five minutes of the game, but while those drives finished with significant yardage, the Patriots allowed no fourth-quarter points. That was thanks in large part to New England’s secondary.

Wentz finished the game 20-of-40 for 214 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots secondary, particularly Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson, were impressive in keeping the Eagles’ pass-catchers at bay. (It helped that their receiving corps looked depleted without Alshon Jeffery.)

Safety Terrence Brooks also played in Patrick Chung’s role while he was out with an injury. Brooks finished tied with a team-high seven tackles, but also added two pass breakups and a pair of quarterback hits; he has been a pleasant surprise since joining the team with the apparently-unfair label as solely a special teams standout.

Even on the Eagles’ second-longest play of the game, a 25-yarder from Wentz to Zach Ertz in the fourth quarter, the quarterback had to zip the ball into an incredibly tight and dangerous window. It was remarkable (and perhaps lucky) to complete the pass. Wentz tried something similar on the following play and McCoury got a hand on it, which nearly resulted in an interception.

Loser: Jason McCourty, CB

There was one exception to the strong play among New England’s defensive backs: Jason McCourty. He made a costly mistake in the first play from scrimmage by committing a pass interference that cost the Patriots 49 yards. Wentz later targeted receiver Mack Hollins down the right sideline on a double move, which fooled McCourty. J.C. Jackson took over for McCourty as the team’s second cornerback. That said, in the fourth quarter, McCourty got redemption with two crucial fourth-quarter breakups.

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Lots of NFL fans thought Carson Wentz got an arm sleeve tattoo. He did not.

Not a tattoo.

Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles were coming off a bye week before Sunday’s showdown with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and many football fans watching the game on TV thought the Eagles QB spent some of that time off getting a sleeve tattoo on his right arm.

He did not.

The QB, who has been having trouble with the Patriots’ stingy/physical defense, was simply wearing a camouflage arm sleeve on his throwing arm. Did it look like a big tattoo? Maybe at first glance but it quickly became easy to spot that it wasn’t some new ink.

See for yourself:

Yup, not a tattoo.

Fans still seemed confused, though: