Tough loss for the Patriots to start the season

FOXBOROUGH, Mass–The New England Patriots hosted the Philadelphia Eagles this evening at Gillette Stadium as Tom Brady returned to Foxborough for his halftime ceremony. Unfortunately for the Patriots, they came up short 25-20 to the Eagles. Patriots quarterback Mac Jones completed 35/54 passes, throwing for 316 yards, adding 3 TDs and 1 INT. Rhamondre Stevenson had 12 carries, rushed for 25 yards, and had 6 receptions for 64 yards receiving. Kendrick Bourne had 6 receptions for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hunter Henry caught 5 receptions for 56 yards and had a nice one-handed that was a 4th-down conversion. For the Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 22/33 with 170 passing yards and 1 TD and had 9 carries with 37 yards rushing. Running back Kenneth Gainwell with 14 carries and 54 yards rushing. A.J. Brown 7 receptions with 79 yards receiving. DeVonta Smith 7 receptions for 47 yards receiving and 1 TD.

Overall it wasn’t a bad game despite the weather conditions that both teams were dealing with the rain. Patriots should have produced more on offense and got more points on the board but the offense already showed some promise under new/old offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. Especially seeing Bourne having a productive game, Henry having some catches and Demario Douglas contributing with 40 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Look for the team to bounce back next Sunday night against the Miami Dolphins.

Early Miscues for the Patriots but still fought back

Bourne had a pass tipped off his fingertips that led to Eagles cornerback Darius Slay’s interception pick-six. Also, Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliot fumbled early in the game. Before you know New England was down 16-0 at the end of the first quarter. The team responded well before halftime and the game was 16-14. As much as the turnovers might have hurt the team in the beginning, they were able to bounce back and score 20 points only to lose by 5 points.

Impressive rookie debut for cornerback Christian Gonzalez

Gonzalez had 7 tackles, 5 solo, sack, pass defended. One of the big plays he made was a corner blitz that sacked Hurts right in the backfield. He definitely has lived up to the first-round hype coming out of Oregon. If he performs at this top-notch level throughout the season look for him to be a shutdown corner soon in the NFL. One downfall for him was a route that Brown was running and he caught Gonzalez slipping a bit and was able to make the catch.

Next Opponent: Miami Dolphins

What a game that the Dolphins won in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers 36-34. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 28/45 passes and threw for 466 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT. Tyreek Hill had himself a day with 11 receptions for 215 yards receiving and 2 TD’s. It will be another hard test for the Patriot’s defense especially the secondary to cover Hill and Jaylen Waddle who is the Dolphins two top receivers. But as everyone saw they were able to contain the Eagle’s two top wideouts so hopefully this will be along the same lines here. Just going to have to wait and see what happens next Sunday night at home. Patriots can’t afford to start the season 0-2 must win next week.