Patriots Outlast Eagles In Friday Night Shootout

Friday, August 15, 2014

Matt LaPan, GoLocal Worcester Sports Reporter

It was a brisk summer night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro as the New England Patriots opened their home schedule for 2014 against the Philadelphia Eagles. After a week of joint practice between the two teams, the Patriots came away with a Friday night victory 42-35 in a shootout.

The Patriots offense appeared to be on a roll early in the game, ripping off multiple Stevan Ridley runs and passes to Kenbrell Tompkins and Danny Amendola. That turned on a dime when Tom Brady looked for newcomer Steve Maneri and was intercepted by Cary Williams. Williams was able to elude Brady and others en route to a 77-yard touchdown to give the Eagles the early 7-0 lead.

The Patriots offense kept their rhythm on their second drive, despite the turnover, as Brady led his offense down the field with relative ease. Brady led a 9-play, 74-yard rive that ended in a 15-yard Kenbrell Tompkins touchdown. The touchdown was a great timing play between Brady and Tompkins with Brady throwing a back-shoulder throw to Tompkins right on the goal line.

That drive brought an end to Tom Brady's preseason debut. He finished 8-10 for 81 yards witha touchdown and an interception. With the exception of the interception, Brady looked to be in a great rhythm.

With just over five minutes left in the 1st quarter, New England got their first look at Darrelle Revis as part of the Patriots' defense. The look was not a long look, however, as the Patriots forced a turnover on the first play the Eagles offense ran. The play was a Nick Foles pass to Ifeanyi Momah with Malcolm Butler in coverage. Butler wrapped up Momah and Dont'a Hightower delivered a big hit jarring the ball free. Tommy Kelly jumped on the ball and the Patriots were back in business.

The Patriots offense came back out, now under the direction of rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. They did not miss a beat with the rookie, scoring on his first drive. The drive ended in a Garoppolo touchdown to fullback James Devlin from 15-yards out to give the Patriots a 14-7 lead.

The 1st quarter ended with the Patriots driving, leading 14-7. Although they only lead by one score, the offense dominated in the 1st Quarter. The referees also dominated the 1st quarter, throwing multiple flags on both teams.

The 2nd quarter started with the Patriots offense continuing to roll. The first drive of the 2nd quarter ended in another Patriots touchdown, this time it was Garoppolo to Brandon LaFell from four-yards out to give the Patriots a 21-7 lead.

The Eagles started to mount a comeback with a great special teams play, a blocked punt. The punt was blocked by Arrelious Benn. From there the Eagles went on a short touchdown drive of only four plays, ending in a Nick Foles touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. Ertz grabbed the touchdown with Patrick Chung in tight coverage to make the game 21-14, Patriots.

The Eagles went on another quick scoring drive before the half, tying the game under new quarterback, Mark Sanchez. The drive ended in a crazy play where Ifeanyi Momah deflected the ball while falling to the ground. The ball bounced straight up and to Benn for the tying touchdown. The game went into the half tied at 21.

The 2nd half of the game saw the entry of Ryan Mallett, and it quickly turned into a shootout. It all started with a defensive play on the second play of the half when Duron Harmon intercepted Mark Sanchez, giving the Patriots a short field.

It did not take the Patriots long to score as Mallett rushed the ball in from six-yards out on the third offensive play. That gave the Patriots a 28-21 lead.

The Eagles would no go out quietly though. Sanchez led the Eagles right back down the field on a long drive that ended in a six-yard touchdown to Damaris Johnson. That tied the game at 28.

The Patriots then went on a scoring run, scoring each of the next two touchdowns. One was a 10-yard run by Roy Finch. The other a 17-yard pass from Mallett to Tyms. The offense was in great rhythm under Mallett throughout the 2nd half and took a 42-35 lead into the 4th quarter.

The Patriots backup defense made the stop of the game in the 4th Quarter, making a great goal line stand. The Eagles had the ball 1st-and-goal on the 2-yard line when they tried to run Johnson into the end zone on four consecutive plays, but the Patriots defense held and saved the lead for the Patriots. Mallett bled the clock and the Patriots came away with their first victory of the preseason 42-35.

The Patriots finished the win with a very efficient night from all three of their quarterbacks. Between Brady, Garoppolo and Mallett, the Patriots completed 21-33 passes for 245 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Ryan Mallett bounced back after a bad performance against the Redskins by going 7-11 for 92-yards and one touchdown. He also ran in another touchdown.

Jonas Gray led the Patriots in rushing with a stellar 2nd Half performance. He finished with 98-yards on 12 carries. Fellow rookie Roy Finch had a good night, finishing with seven carries for 37 yards and a touchdown. He also caught two passes for a team-high 34 yards.

On defense, Malcolm Butler turned in another great performance. Butler finished with seven tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was also part of another fumble that was credited to Dont'a Hightower. As a team, the Patriots forced four turnovers and recovered all four of them.

The Patriots will stay at home for preseason game number three, next Friday against the Carolina Panthers. They will host one final Training Camp session for the public on Monday at 2 PM.