It wasn’t pretty, and it was not a masterpiece, but in the end, the Philadelphia Eagles(1-0) got by the Patriots(0-1) 25-20 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
The Eagles led 16-0 in the first quarter and held on late.
Here are three observations from Philly’s win over New England.
-Jalen Hurts did not play one of his best games. Hurts was 22/33 for 170 yards and a touchdown and ran for 37 yards; he did have a big fumble, which almost allowed the Patriots to come back late. It’s only one of 17, so you can’t read too much into Hurts’ performance, but the offense did not have much of a rhythm.
-Eagles rookie DT Jalen Carter looks like a special talent, and he recorded his first career sack late in the fourth. On his first defensive snap, he got a hit on Mac Jones. Philadelphia may have gotten the steal of the draft.
-Jake Elliott is a weapon. He made all four of his field goal attempts, including 56 and 51-yard field goals. Elliott has made two 50-plus-yard field goals in the same game for the second time in his career. He did miss an extra point, but he made up for it.
The Eagles don’t win this game without the play of Elliott.
Conclusion:
Again, there was not much great from the Eagles, but these are the games good teams find ways to win. Going forward, you expect Hurts and the offense to be better. He was under duress at times in this game and was sacked three times, but it’s only one game, so you expect things to get better for this offense and team.
Notes:
Jalen Hurts has won 18 of his last 19 regular-season starts.
The Eagles made it a 10-0 score in the first quarter when Darius Slay intercepted Patriots QB Mac Jones and returned it 70 yards for a TD. It was the longest pick-6 of Slay’s career. The takeaway was his 3rd career INT-TD, having previously done so on 11/21/21 vs. New Orleans (51 yards) and 12/9/18 at Arizona with Detroit (61 yards).
Nick Sirianni is 3-0 in season openers for his Eagles career, all on the road.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean left in the second half with a foot injury and did not return.
Six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady was honored at halftime by the Patriots.
