FOXBOROUGH -- It’s small consolation, but at this time of year, you take what you can get.
The Patriots beat the Eagles soundly Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, 37-20. There wasn’t nearly as much on the line as there was last February in Minneapolis, but it still had to bring a small measure of satisfaction for New England.
No? OK then, there was still more than enough positives to take out of this game if you’re the Patriots, who improved to 2-0 on the preseason.
• Tom Brady went 19-for-26 for 172 yards and two touchdowns while playing just short of two quarters. Brady hit Chris Hogan on one touchdown pass and James White on the second. Even without Rob Gronkowski on the field, he was part of an offense was pulled a 180 in the first half when compared to last week. In his first action of the summer, Brady looked sharp, and while there were a few missed connections, it appeared there was very little rust.
• Cordarrelle Patterson flashed a variety of skills, including some excellent short-area quickness on one play that ended with an 11-yard touchdown reception. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see how the Patriots use Patterson this year on offense. James White also starred for the New England offense, ending up with four carries for 31 yards and six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
• The Patriots defense finished with eight sacks. The biggest defensive star? Rookie linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley had a 54-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown (off an Adrian Clayborn strip sack) in the second quarter. Other than a few nice runs from Jay Ajayi, New England suffocated the Philly offense when it counted — the Eagles had 120 net yards over the first two quarters. Nick Foles departed after he suffered a shoulder injury on the Clayborn strip sack, and ended up 3-for-9 for 44 yards.
• The Patriots’ special teams connected with three field goals from Stephen Gostkowski, while the punt coverage unit was able to pin the Eagles inside their own 20-yard line on multiple occasions.
The worst news of the night? Isaiah Wynn, who got a lot of reps at right tackle after the first series, ended up leaving with an ankle injury in the first half. He was carted off and did not return.
IN-GAME UPDATES:
10:55 p.m.: That's it. 37-20.
10:50 p.m.: 4.96 on that last punt for Allen -- another 49-yarder.
10:46 p.m.: Two-minute warning. 37-20 for the Patriots.
10:44 p.m.: The Kid from Terre Haute -- Danny Etling -- gets the call. That's all for Hoyer.
10:43 p.m.: Seventh sack of the night for the Patriots. These punts have been tough to handle -- lots of running across the field -- for McCarron. Good clean work tonight, at least so far.
10:35 p.m.: 4.22 on that punt for Allen -- a 49-yarder.
10:29 p.m.: Stephen Gostkowski -- one target, one catch.
10:27 p.m.: It hasn't been all positive, but Crossen has been around the ball an awful lot tonight.
10:24 p.m.: 29-yard FG from Gostkowski. Third of the night. It's 37-20 with 11:25 left in the game.
10:20 p.m.: Well, there's always Brandon Bolden.
10:12 p.m.: Jordan Richards with the back-to-back flags. PAT no good. A game that had a good first half has started to slide off the rails here a bit. 34-20 with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
10:09 p.m.: 5.03 on that punt from Allen. He's lights out tonight -- really. Turned a positional battle into a blowout -- 44 yards on the punt and -3 on the return.
10:04 p.m.: Good answer there by the twos and threes on defense on that fourth down stop.
10:03 p.m.: Good sack for my guy Vinny Valentine. We haven't called his name a lot this summer -- he's in a positional battle at the back end of that DT depth chart. That'll help his chances.
10:02 p.m.: Great throw there for the 57-yarder by Sudfeld over J.C. Jackson.
9:58 p.m.: 4.23 on that 56-yard punt for Allen. Pats did everything right, Eagles ... not so much -- -12 yards on that return.
9:55 p.m.: With those jump balls, Patterson looking a little like Moss in 2007.
9:52 p.m.: Not a great series for the twos and threes of the New England defense. Two things to remember, though: One, they were trying a few different personnel combos there, including lots of work in base for Adam Butler, usually a pass rush specialist. And two, that touchdown was a really nice throw from Sudfeld. Tip your cap on that TD.
9:40 p.m.: Again, not sure I've seen anyone quite like Patterson in a New England uniform. Just a unique series of skills.
Cordarrelle Patterson with the wheels ? #PHIvsNE #Patriots pic.twitter.com/GXXIShwAmQ
— Casey Baker (@CaseyBake16) August 17, 2018
Clayborn gets the strip sack, Bently recovers and takes it in for thw TD! #Patriots pic.twitter.com/rBNNpCoXr9
— Prime Bam Childress (@fearthe_beard11) August 17, 2018
