The New England Patriots’ scheduled loss against the Philadelphia Eagles turned into an unexpected nail biter Sunday evening as the Pats slowly but surely sprinkled themselves up inside the Eagles jock straps like itching powder. We don’t believe in so-called “moral victories” around here, but there are such things as “statement losses.” This was one of them. What appeared in the first quarter to be a blowout-in-the-making evolved into a legit dogfight that had the Eagles clinging to a five point lead in the final seconds of the game.
The first quarter was reminiscent of last year’s Patriots: sloppy, with a couple of costly errors that turned the ball over and put points on the board for the Eagles. After fifteen minutes, the Pats were in a 16-0 hole and appeared completely outmatched. It was pouring. Mac was frustrated (but kept his cool). Brady was apoplectic in the VIP box. We can only imagine what Julian Edelman was yelling at the TV in the comfort of his own home.
But then, the rain slowed down. The defense started making stops. The Eagles started going three-and-out. And three-and-out. And three-and-out. The Patriots supposed crappy O-line held. And Mac remembered that before Matt Patricia and Joe Judge got ahold of him, he had been a damned good rookie with a whole lot of potential.
Hunter Henry scored. Kendrick Bourne scored twice (the Bourne Redemption memes will undoubtedly write themselves). When all was said and done, the Pats defense held Jalen Hurts to 170 yards and one touchdown (he rushed for 37 more). Jabrill Peppers and Christian Gonzales came out of nowhere at various points and both made stunning pass breakups to foil the Eagles attempt at conversion – Peppers forcing a fumble, Gonzales stopping the 4th and 2 with a minute remaining that would have sealed the game. Mac drove them into the red zone. They were at the goal line. They had it in their sights.
So what happened? Well, despite playing well beyond expectations, there are still some lingering issues to clean up. Penalties are much fewer, which is good, but the ones they do get are still coming at the worst possible time. Boutte is for real, but twice (by our count) he failed to plant both toes on the turf as he was falling out of bounds. On the final drive, it cost them the completion that would have given them a fresh set of downs and four more chances to win. This is a rookie mistake that I have zero doubt Bill Belichick will have coached out of him by the end of next week.
Also, the entire last set of downs was rushed and messy. This is the type of situation that Mac needs to learn to take control of and negotiate calmly, with more steady deliberation and confidence. Boutte was put in a position where he needed to squeak out a tough catch on 4th down because the 3rd and several they had just attempted was mucked up by poor execution.
The knock on Mac his rookie season was that he can’t play from behind. Last year it was that he can’t execute in the red zone. We now know that neither of these things is true. The next step is for him to learn how to close, and to do that, he needs to step up and take control calmly, and with unhurried confidence.
We’re almost back, baby!