Following last weekend’s lifeless preseason opening loss, the Philadelphia Eagles arrived for a spirited week of joint practices in Foxborough, New England, ahead of Saturday night’s exhibition contest at Gillette Stadium.
The Eagles' backups and bubble players brought that same feisty attitude to the road matchup, but the result was the same after a 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots. Philadelphia received excellent first-half performances from defenders Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Mac McWilliams, and Ty Robinson. Meanwhile, Tanner McKee, Will Shipley, and Carson Steele impressed for the offensive unit against New England.
Philly’s backup defenders allowed 207 yards in the first half of play, but they kept New England’s Tommy DeVito-led offense in check when it mattered the most. The Patriots were held to 3-for-8 on 3rd down attempts over the first 30 minutes of the ballgame. Trotter Jr. was a force in Foxborough, leading the squad with five tackles and a sack.
Ty Robinson collected three tackles, including two sacks, on three quarterback pressures against New England. McWilliams finished the first half with four tackles as the Eagles allowed three points over the first 28 minutes of the contest. Those performances set the stage for the offense to get to work in Massachusetts.
Andy Dalton received a second starting audition for the backup QB spot after the Eagles offense struggled to move the ball over the first three quarters against Baltimore. The NFL veteran completed three passes on 10 throws for 44 yards. As Eagles fans saw last weekend, Philly’s backup offensive unit struggled to give Dalton time to operate under heavy pressure. On his end, Dalton missed one or two “easy throws” that you’d expect a player with over a decade of NFL experience under his cleats to make.
He leaned heavily on running back Will Shipley, who collected 56 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The 5-foot-11 showcased both his power and athleticism at Gillette Stadium. Early in the game, Shipley stiff-armed a defender and surged forward for an early first down, an important milestone for this group this weekend. Sean Mannion continued to hand him the football, and the Clemson Tigers product eventually pierced the end zone on a five-yard touchdown score for a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
New England countered Philly’s early lead with a nine-play, 50-yard drive resulting in a field goal from Andy Borregales to trim the lead to 7-3. Dalton was given one more drive, but a quick 3-and-out ended his night midway through the frame. The Eagles' defense remained difficult to navigate, forcing another punt by the Patriots.
Tanner McKee entered with a little under seven minutes remaining in the quarter, but his first action of the evening resulted in Brandon Mann booting the ball back down the field to the Patriots. DeVito struck quickly on a 69-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams to flip the scoreboard in the home team’s favor at 10-7.
The 26-year-old signal-caller responded to adversity with a seven-play, 47-yard drive in less time than it takes to get fast food at the drive-thru some nights (1:44 seconds). McKee spotted Marquise "Hollywood" Brown for a 16-yard gain before a personal foul for unnecessary roughness added another 15 yards for a total gain of 31 yards. He then located Steele for a 14-yard first down strike on the doorstep of the Patriots' red zone. Britain Covey's 14-yard touchdown catch (and the resulting PAT) put the Eagles back in front, 14-10, with 1:04 on the clock before halftime. Neither team moved the ball on their resulting opportunities at the end of the half.
Tanner McKee returned after the break and picked up right where he left off. He connected with Steele for a 28-yard gain before Cameron Latu made a first-down grab of his own. McKee took what he was given by the Patriots defense with short completions to Stone Smartt and Steele, but a fourth-and-goal pass to E.J. Jenkins fell to the turf and gave the ball back to New England without adding to the scoreboard.
McKee’s next drive was stopped after a fourth-and-one in Patriots’ territory fell incomplete as well. New England responded with a 13-play, 59-yard touchdown drive to take a 17-14 lead. The Eagles defense nearly had the stop at midfield, but a 6-yard reception from Lan Larison kept the drive alive for the Patriots. New England’s back would score the go-ahead touchdown from two yards out.
There wasn’t much going on for the Eagles offense since McKee’s scoring drive, but a Patriots fumble near the midfield stripe handed an opportunity back to the Eagles near plus territory. Philadelphia battled penalties and the New England defensive front to slowly work their way down the field, where McKee floated a 20-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to Steele to secure a 21-17 advantage with a limited 3:17 remaining in regulation.
Steele finished with 117 combined yards of offense, and he did everything in his power to lead the Eagles to a win in the second half. McKee can do the same following a 16-of-22 performance for 173 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday night.
To their credit, the Patriots' offense took advantage of the Eagles' soft defensive coverage on a 15-play, 75-yard march down the field in under three minutes to steal the lead away, 24-21, with 57 seconds left in the contest. Cole Payton was placed in the impossible situation to lead a game-winning drive, but a blindside hit jarred the ball loose, and a fumble recovery by the home squad sealed the comeback win for New England.
The Eagles should be flying high after a win heading into their annual public practice at Lincoln Financial Field. This year’s event is set for Aug. 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Tickets support the Eagles Autism Foundation and are available via philadelphiaeagles.com. Philadelphia wraps up the three-game preseason slate with a home contest against the Cincinnati Bengals a few nights later on Aug. 28.
More: 4 key Eagles storylines before Week 1
