The first series told you what kind of game this was going to be
The Eagles nearly sat out all their starters both sides of the ball. Mostly on defense but also at quarterback which overall led to a very ugly game for Philly and a shut-out performance for the Patriots that was somewhat unfulfilling. It started with a bad snap that led to a strip sack on Joe Flacco by Matt Judon, recovered by Jalen Mills inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line. 2 plays later Damien Harris scores on a 5-yard touchdown run to kick off a preseason rout that ended with a final score of 35-0.
A big week for Cam Newton
After seeing first team reps in both of the joint practices in Philadelphia, Cam started again this week and played a little longer going 8 for 9 with a touchdown pass and 103 yards. At this point it is very much looking like Cam Newton will be your week 1 starter. The Patriots can say there’s a quarterback battle all they want but as long as they don’t evenly split reps, they aren’t fooling anyone. With how much better Cam has looked this year, I don’t think you can blame them anymore for giving him a second chance.
Line dominates on both sides of the ball
It probably doesn’t need to be said when the final score is 35-0 and it doesn’t need to be emphasized when you’re mostly playing against backups. But regardless to score 4 touchdowns on the ground and to hold the Eagles to 82 running yards should still build some more confidence for the big men.
Stevenson with another multi touchdown game
Despite fumbling in the fourth quarter, Rhamondre Stevenson scored his 3rd and his 4th rushing touchdown of the preseason. He ended up with 66 yards on 15 carries. Leading the way in the backfield was J.J. Taylor with 93 yards on 12 carries and 1 touchdown.
Bill is in midseason form
Bill cut off a play to challenge the previous and won back 2 yards. Even in a preseason game, that’s the pettiness we love to see out of our head coach.
Quinn Nordin has a night to forget
After a decent game last week, rookie kicker Quinn Nordin had an awful performance this week missing two extra points (3 in 2 games) and a 36-yard field goal. He hit a 24-yard field goal to avoid a disastrous night but he needs to be consistent with extra points and 30+ yard attempts to even have a shot at being a pro kicker.
The secondary made some stand out plays
With under a minute left in the first half, up 19 – 0, Justin Bethel made a great play to tip a Joe Flacco pass to Harvey Langi who made a diving catch to complete the interception. Adrian Colbert had an interception late in the fourth quarter off a deflection from a dropped pass that he ran back 19 yards to the New England 32-yard line. The secondary as a whole ended the game with 8 pass deflections.
Mac Jones follows up his debut with another good game
Mac keeps looking better and better every week. His receivers dropped some balls and he may have some shared blame in a couple of those plays like one at the goal line for a 2-pt conversion to Kendrick Bourne for instance. But for where he is right now at this stage, he looks very promising and looking like he will get a chance to shine at some point this year, even if it is late.
Go Pats.
