Eagles vs. Patriots: New England Grades, Notes and Quotes

Even the New England Patriots are not immune to head-shaking self-inflicted mistakes.  In an unusual game filled with massive plays in all three phases, a furious Patriots fourth-quarter rally fell short, as New England could not get out of its own way and dropped a 35-28 decision to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The opening quarter saw incompetence from both offenses.  Neither side cracked midfield on its first two drives, with Tom Brady getting sacked twice and Philly's offensive line committing four penalties.  On their third drive, though, the Patriots finally bested the Eagles defense, with Brady hitting four passes of over 10 yards and finding James White for a four-yard touchdown catch.

On the team's next offensive drive, a 42-yard Malcolm Jenkins pass interference penalty aided a second consecutive 80-yard touchdown drive, with Danny Amendola roasting Walter Thurmond for an 11-yard score.  However, the Pats sacrificed the positive momentum with a bizarre failed onside kick, which the Eagles subsequently cashed in for a touchdown to slice the lead in half.  Then, when it appeared the Pats would go into the locker room with the lead, Chris Maragos blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown, leading to a stunning 14-14 tie headed into halftime.

The Pats appeared to restore order early in the third quarter but again made a critical mistake when Jenkins picked off an Amendola bobble on 3rd-and-goal and returned the interception 100 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.  Then, Philly followed that right hook with a devastating uppercut, as Darren Sproles took a punt back 83 yards to put the Eagles up 28-14.

After the offense moved into Philly territory on its next drive, a Brady pick on an apparent miscommunication became the dagger.  The Eagles took the ball and converted three third downs on an 80-yard touchdown drive to go up 35-14.

The Pats did show tremendous fight over the final 10 minutes, however.  Following a Scott Chandler touchdown with under six minutes left, the kickoff team recovered the subsequent onside kick.  After converting a 4th-and-12, Brady sneaked the ball in from the one-yard line with exactly three minutes remaining.

Even more craziness ensued, as the Eagles picked up a first down that should have allowed them to run out the clock but subsequently fumbled the ball to give New England life with one minute remaining.  Yet drops plagued the desperation drive, and the Patriots turned it over on downs before reaching midfield.

New England likely outplayed the Eagles on a down-to-down basis, but the Pats found out the hard way how mistakes can sabotage any team.  Read on for full grades and analysis of a shocking second consecutive loss for the Patriots. 

Positon Grades for Patriots

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Quarterback: B

Running Back: B+

Wide Receiver: C-

Tight End: B

Offensive Line: D+

Defensive Line: B-

Linebacker: B

Secondary: C+

Special Teams: D-

Coaching: C-

We'll talk more about the onslaught of mistakes that plagued New England's special teams in a separate post.  Still, the Pats could have overcome them if not for some poor situational execution, which was just enough to give the Eagles a critical season-saving win.

Offensively, LeGarrette Blount had a few nice early runs, but he essentially disappeared from the game plan when the Pats fell behind and ended with 54 yards on 13 carries.  James White excelled late in the game as the passing back, showing nice wiggle in compiling 10 catches for 115 receiving yards (both team highs) and a touchdown.  Moving forward, it would be surprising if White did not earn a larger role in the offense given his fourth-quarter performance.

The front seven did not put much pressure on Sam Bradford, earning just one cheap sack when Bradford went down on the Eagles' final drive to keep the clock running.  And while they shut down DeMarco Murray to just 24 yards on eight carries, the diminutive duo of Darren Sproles and Kenjon Barner combined for 115 rushing yards on 24 carries, good for 4.8 yards per attempt.

It's also worth questioning whether Belichick really needed to attempt an onside kick with three minutes left and the Patriots holding two timeouts.  Maybe the exact same result wouldn't have unfolded, but it sure would have been nice for the Patriots to get the ball in plus territory after the Barner fumble.  Moreover, having reserve safety Nate Ebner attempt two onside kicks in the first place may have been a case of overthinking things against an opponent many would have labeled as inferior.

Special Teams Collapses

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Bill Belichick got his start in the league as a special teams coach, which has certainly played a role in New England's consistent excellence in the third phase of the game.  Headed into Week 13, Football Outsiders' DVOA metric actually ranked New England as the best special teams unit in the league.

That ranking could take a tumble after the Patriots essentially lost 21 points to poor special teams execution on Sunday.  After New England went up 14-0, Bill Belichick went for the jugular and had Nate Ebner attempt a bizarre onside drop kick.  Philadelphia easily recovered the ball and mounted its first sustained offensive drive of the game, reaching the end zone and changing the complexion of the contest.

The breakdowns from the punt team were far more egregious.  Ebner, continuing his rough night, appeared to miss an oncoming rusher and left Chris Maragos unblocked as the Philadelphia safety cleanly blocked Ryan Allen's punt backwards.  Najee Goode returned the punt for a touchdown to tie the game, leaving the Pats reeling as they headed into the locker room.  Then, Darren Sproles' punt return score down the left sideline was a poor case of lane containment, putting the Patriots in a two-possession hole they couldn't quite claw out of.

This is likely a one-week blip, though only Rashaan Melvin's onside recovery with 5:25 left kept special teams from a failing grade on the previous slide.  Still, given how many hidden points New England typically earns from special teams, it's a huge shock to see this unit essentially lose the game for the Patriots. 

Brady Again Takes a Beating

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After taking 23 hits over the past two weeks, Tom Brady likely won't see any of his bruises heal over the ensuing week.  Brady took four sacks and was hit at least 13 times on Sunday.  The new offensive line, which moved Josh Kline to left guard in place of Shaq Mason and inserted Tre' Jackson at right guard, remained mostly ineffectual in pass protection.

This is arguably more distressing than either of the past two games.  The Buffalo Bills did an excellent job disguising their pressure fronts, while the Denver Broncos possess an incandescent edge-rusher in Von Miller.  However, the Eagles generally got home on straight four-man rushes.  And though the likes of Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin are high-end talents, the Pats have held against tougher personnel in the past.

New England also did not substitute offensive linemen in this game, suggesting the coaching staff is attempting to lock down a core five-man unit that can carry the torch through the end of the season.  That mission has fallen woefully short thus far, though the Pats do at least have a healthy assortment of reserves to choose from now.

Regardless, pass protection, not receiver health, is the biggest problem impeding the offense right now.  Brady was still able to pick apart the Philadelphia defense when given time, but that occasion has become far too rare in the past month.

Pats Lose Back-to-Back 14-Point Leads for First Time in Franchise History

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The Patriots have had as strong a killer instinct as any team during the Brady-Belichick era, but that finishing touch was sorely lacking against the Broncos and Eagles.  After the loss, WEEI's Ryan Hannable had a sobering stat:

"

The was the largest lead blown at home in the Bill Belichick era. They hadn't blown a lead at home of more than 7 points since 2000.

— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) December 7, 2015"

That the Patriots had never even blown a lead as large as eight points at home was astonishing.  When New England cruised down the field for a 14-0 lead, it certainly felt as though the Eagles, who had gotten blown out the past two weeks, would roll over and die.

Philly certainly did not lie down, of course, and the Patriots played the middle quarters of the game in a stunned daze.  On the stat sheet, New England outgained Philadelphia 427 to 248 and held the ball for nearly 10 more minutes than the Eagles.  Despite that dominance, though, the Patriots simply failed in their situational execution and made very few of the game's biggest plays.  That rarity, more than anything, gave New England its first losing streak since 2012.

Tom Brady Takes Responsibility for Turnovers

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Though special teams may have been the worst aspect of the Patriots' performance, Brady himself did not aid the cause with two back-breaking picks.  According to Hannable, Brady took a large chunk of responsibility for the loss because of those turnovers:

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Brady: "We have to do a better job. ... If I turn the ball over twice, I don't think we'll have the chance to win many games."

— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) December 7, 2015"

The Jenkins interception was the game's turning point, as the Pats were tied 14-14 but on the goal line and on the verge of restoring order to the game.  That pick wasn't necessarily entirely Brady's fault, as Amendola would have scored had he held onto the ball instead of tipping it up in the air.  However, the overthrow of Brandon LaFell was a devastating mistake, especially since it came on the play after Brady's electrifying 36-yard catch on a trick play.

After throwing just one pick through his first seven games, Brady has now tossed four interceptions in his past five games.  Injuries have placed even more pressure on Brady to be razor-sharp, and though he hasn't performed poorly, New England's offensive margin for error doesn't afford him the opportunity to make those mistakes at the moment.

Belichick Explains Goal-Line Gaffe

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Before the Jenkins interception even occurred, the Patriots actually had the ball on the 1-yard line and seemed on the verge of capping off a stellar drive.  However, a James White carry got stuffed for a four-yard loss, and the rest of the drive was downhill from there.  Afterward, Bill Belichick explained the play as the Patriots attempting to keep the Eagles' dime defense on the field:

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Belichick says #Patriots hurried up on goal line play trying to catch their dime defense on the field. pic.twitter.com/VwIxNpUnT3

— Erik Frenz (@ErikFrenz) December 7, 2015"

Criticizing the decision would simply be a case of outcome bias, of course, as the Patriots run that outside zone all the time.  Still, White hasn't really been carrying the ball from the backfield, and perhaps LeGarrette Blount would have been the better call on the goal line.  Moreover, given Brady's near-unstoppable conversion rate on quarterback sneaks, the Pats likely could have gotten the touchdown that way.

Belichick made a few questionable decisions in terms of onside kick management, but that really wasn't a poor decision in the moment.  Like most of the game, though, the end result simply didn't work out for New England.