The New England Patriots defense bounced back in dominant fashion in a 17-10 slugfest against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Things are suddenly not so fun for the Philadelphia Eagles. Just ask Lane Johnson. After falling behind 10-0, the New England Patriots got their fight back to get back on the winning track with a 17-10 win in South Philly.
Yes, it turned out to be a heavyweight fight that saw Bill Belichick and his defense outslug the Eagles defense as the team was way more physical against the run following the first quarter and had Carson Wentz on his back a few times.
Although Tom Brady and the offense continued to struggle with execution, this was a game that ultimately came down to the defense and special teams, primarily the kicking game where punter Jake Bailey ended up as one of the stars of the game.
In all, a good hard-nosed victory in a tough environment. The team made enough plays to win the game in all three phrases of the game. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect, but the team is 9-1 and that’s what counts.
It certainly made Patriots head coach Bill Belichick happy. Here is what he had to say following the game, via Patriots.com.
"“It really was a good team victory for us today. I am really proud of the way our guys competed. They just went out there and competed for 60 minutes. I know we didn’t get off to a great start, but we just kept battling and made plays in all three phases of the game. We played for 60 minutes and played some good situational football and made plays that we needed to make to win. Big drive offensively coming off of the goal line in the fourth quarter, put our defense in a good field position. Defense played really well in the second half. The players covered well, rushed well, and they tackled real well. They just did a good job.”"
Here are five observations from the New England Patriots 17-10 slugfest victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
5. Running game still a non-factor
Well, the New England Patriots still couldn’t get anything going in the running game.
The running backs did factor in to the passing game with a couple effective screen passes, but as far as a ground attack goes, it was less than even mediocre.
One of the players the team really needs to step up following the bye is Sony Michel. On Sunday, the second-year running back rushed for just 33 yards on 10 attempts. He did have a nice run late in the game to change field position a bit, but the overall lack of effectiveness out of the run game is making life even more difficult for Tom Brady.
Help is on the way when the team gets back Isaiah Wynn at left tackle, but Michel and crew still have to do their part in finding holes and shifting by defenders.
In all, they just have to keep at it and eventually good results will happen.
"“We are just grinding things out right now,” Sony Michel said following the game, via Patriots.com. “Trying to make plays and play complementary football out there. With the running game, we are trying to grind it out and execute as best we can.”"
It really can’t get any worse than it has been through the first 10 games of the season. Between Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, Brandon Bolden and rookie running back Damian Harris, someone has to get things rolling.
4. Jake Bailey for MVP
If you yelled at the TV screen when Bill Belichick selected Stanford punter Jake Bailey with the No. 163 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, you may be taking those words back.
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While it’s hard to justify taking a punter in the middle round of the draft, Bailey is making a pretty good case with the way he has been kicking the ball this season. With an AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award under his belt, the rookie kicker continues to impress with his ability to pin back opponents.
On Sunday, that continued as Bailey pinned the Philadelphia Eagles inside their 20 six times with an average of 47.6 yards a punt. With the weather conditions, it was a remarkable performance and great situational football as lauded by Belichick following the game.
"“This year there have been days out there where it’s been cold, rainy, windy and I think he learned something every day,” Belichick said, via Patriots.com. “There’s cross winds and there’s winds in your face and it’s kicking with the wind and all that. There’s challenges in every one of them. If you’re kicking with the wind, that’s an advantage to the punter, but handling the snap, which is coming back into the wind, wobbles and things like that. It’s a little tougher snap for the snapper. So anyway, he’s done a good job of, I would say, adapting to the conditions. He’s still got a long way to go. I’m sure he’ll learn a lot more as the season goes along, but between the holding, the kick-offs and the punting in various conditions and certainly situational football, which came up today. You know, the end-of-the-game punts and backed-up punts and plus 50-punts and the kickoffs and so forth. There were a lot of situations. But he’s a great kid. He works hard. He’s really played well for us this entire season and he’s been so valuable to this team and he proved it out there today.”"
The only thing Jake Bailey could’ve did better in the game was actually recover a Philadelphia Eagles fumble on a kickoff return.
Otherwise, Bailey has been a great addition for the New England Patriots.
3. Tom Brady showing some frustration
The New England Patriots got the win and the offense scored 17 unanswered points, but Tom Brady is not happy with his unit’s performance.
Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles have a very good defense, but the Patriots offense still failed more often than not when it came to execution in the game.
Besides a trick play that resulted in the lone touchdown pass by Julian Edelman, there wasn’t much to get excited about when it came to the offense. Rex Burkhead evaded a tackle and took a screen pass 30 yards, and Ben Watson had a couple nice catches, but besides that, it was the same ole frustration from an offense that is still searching for an identity.
Throwing for just 216 yards in the game, Tom Brady was noticeably frustrated by the performance by the offense despite the 17-10 victory. He kept it pretty short following the game.
"“Up and down,” Brady said when asked about the offense this season. “That’s what it looks like to me. We could probably do everything better.”"
The area where the team needs the most work is in the red zone. Except for that Edelman touchdown pass, the team basically sputtered once they got inside the 20. Due to play calling, offensive line play and execution, the New England Patriots offense settled for field goals mostly.
Luckily, the defense played lights out following the first quarter.
2. The defense does their thing
If there was any concern about this New England Patriots defense, it was put to rest on Sunday.
The Philadelphia Eagles were missing some playmakers due to injury, but the Patriots defense still had to contend with the talented tight end duo of Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. They also had to deal with a shifty running back in Miles Sanders.
After giving up 10 points in the first half, including a 95-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown, the defense locked it down and had Carson Wentz on his back and looking very confused.
In all, Ertz got his catches, but the Eagles offense was basically shut down as Jamie Collins, Dant’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy were flying all over the field.
While the secondary locked down the passing game, the defensive front made sure the Eagles didn’t get too comfortable running the ball. Lawrence Guy, Adam Butler and Danny Shelton were outstanding in this game.
In fact, check out this strip sack by the tandem of Guy and Shelton:
For the players, it felt great to get back to their dominant ways on defense.
"“It felt great because we had this bye week to do our review and correct mistakes that we had early in the season,” Shelton said following the game, via Patriots.com. “I feel like our guys did a great job with staying focused. We had to step it up and use better technique, get after the ball and make more plays. I feel like we’re on the right tract now.”"
Except for that one 95-yard drive, the New England Patriots defense proved they are a tough defense to move the ball against for any team not named the Baltimore Ravens.
1. Edelman looking like Brady’s successor
New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is not only Tom Brady’s good friend and favorite target, he may actually be his successor at the quarterback position.
With all kidding aside, Edelman did something Sunday than Brady couldn’t do: throw a touchdown pass:
We saw this before from the former Kent State quarterback in a playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens, but the touchdown throw to Phillip Dorsett was his first in a regular season game. With the way the offense has been unable to move the ball on a consistent basis, it may not even be his last attempt anyway.
Julian Edelman certainly wouldn’t mind. When asked following the game, Edelman said he is happy to do whatever the coaches ask of him.
"“I just do what the coaches ask of me,” Edelman said. “It isn’t like I am going to the coaches and saying, ‘Yo, let me throw a ball.’ I guess its cool to do. They trust me to go throw the ball and its fun to throw the ball sometimes.”"
In all, it really picked the team up when they really needed a boost. But let’s all agree that it would be more fun to see Tom Brady tossing the touchdown passes and Julian Edelman running through the secondary.