Now what the heck are we supposed to make out of that?
It's absolutely true that both Patriots quarterbacks, Cam Newton and Mac Jones, played well in Thursday night's 35-0 victory over the Eagles.
Both built off their appearances against Washington, and improved in a lot of areas.
But the Eagles, either resting on their laurels for winning both practices against the Patriots or because starting QB Jalen Hurts came down with a stomach ailment in pregame warmps, decided to sit half their starters overall.
On defense, it was even worse. Seven of 11 defensive starters (63.6 percent) didn't play. None of the top six defensive linemen — you know, the guys who rush the quarterback — played. Half the secondary sat out.
There was no Fletcher Cox barking on the other side of the line of scrimmage. We didn't get to see Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett flying off the edge. No Darius Slay locking up a receiver.
Just look at the first two plays after the "turnover" where the Patriots got the ball from a bad snap over the head of the unathletic Joe Flacco. On the first play, Shaq Mason and Trent Brown shoved some unsuspecting and undersized end about 6 yards off the line of scrimmage. On the TD run, the path to the end zone was so clear that Bill Belichick could have run the ball in.
Awesome.
So Newton played his best ball in some time ... against backups.
Which ... he should do.
And Jones looked more comfortable and let it fly a bit more .... against third and fourth stringers.
Which ... he should do.
So what exactly did we learn at Lincoln Financial Field?
Not nothing. Both QBs definitely took coaching well this week and applied it to the game. That's something.
Outside of that, not much.
It's not a bad thing, but this is not the same as not going gaga over a Week 6 victory against the Jets ... there's some good professional players on that team earning a paycheck and trying to keep a job.
It's more like playing your younger and smaller brother one-on-one in hoops and winning easily. Are you happy? Yes. Are you thumping your chest? Not unless you're a loser.
But there were some good developments from both QBs. A couple of things that stood out, before we get into some video analysis of both.
Cam Newton
- Newton improved in a few different areas, especially his footwork in the pocket, which has always been an issue. He kept his feet under him and in good position throughout the throws. There was no stepping in the bucket on any of his throws, which allowed him to power the ball down the field, instead of it dying.
- There were a few occasions where Newton manipulated the defense with his eyes and action. On one play, a 10-yard hitch by Jakobi Meyers. Newton purposely motioned to Jakob Johnson in the flat to get the linebacker to vacate the zone. He did, and that subtle bit of quarterbacking opened up a throwing lane. I can't recall him doing that before here in New England.
- Newton's play-action fakes were outstanding, at least four or five of them. This an area where Jones pushed Newton to be better. Newton sees Jones do it right on film. Newton has no choice but to get better at it. His TD to Meyers was an example of this, and it was also a bread and butter Patriots play. Playaction, pull the guard and fullback into the hole to get defenders to dive into the box, try to get Nelson Agholor deep (he was basically tackled by a defender) and if not, hit Meyers on the crosser.
- Yes, Newton was more comfortable and confident, but that comes from not having the starting Eagles line out there.
Mac Jones
- I didn't like, at all, that he was slow getting up after an untouched scramble and purposely appeared to keep weight off his left knee by getting up on his right leg.
- Jones was much more aggressive throwing the ball down the field, which comes with playing against end of the roster players.
- Jones appeared to step into his throws more in this one. Against Washington, he lost some juice when there was traffic around him. Jones looked to be on a mission to throw with more velocity tonight.
- Jones continues to be very good at manipulating the defense and the pocket. There hasn't been one time where he looked out of place against NFL pass rushers. Of course, there wasn't prime meat out there in that regard.
- His accuracy is just so consistent. Building off Week 1, the ball is almost always in the right place.
Where does this leave us?
Same place as before: Newton on target to start the season, with Jones breathing down his neck ready to take over at any point.
Hard to see how the Patriots and Belichick lose in that scenario. Either Newton stays ahead of Jones, or he gives way to a rookie who looks anything but, and seems destined to be the next franchise QB here in short order.
But this knee thing that Jones is definitely going through — last week and the knee brace showing up was one thing; this scramble was altogether different — is probably all Belichick needs to say, "See, I knew he wasn't going to be able to make it through an NFL season with that body. If we need him, I need to buy him as much time as possible. I need him to last into December and January."
And here's the other thing: with the tight ends on the shelf, and Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne not exactly lighting the world on fire, this passing offense is going to be a work in progress for some time, as we expected. Newton helps the running game, can take the bullets and withstand the beating should the passing offense take a while. Why put Jones out there with receivers who may not do what he expects? Might be better to go with a QB who needs to see it to throw it, than one who throws with anticipation and timing.
Belichick believes more than anyone that a season is a marathon, not a sprint. Might be wise just to take things slow.