The Philadelphia Eagles have their second win of the preseason, outlasting the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, 14-13. Philly had trailed for a large chunk of this matchup, but a fourth-quarter touchdown by running back Kendall Milton and a subsequent two-point conversion helped put them up late.
As for the individual play, all eyes in New England were on their top offense, which saw minimal action in the opener. This week, Jacoby Brissett got the start and played roughly the entire first quarter, but the result left little to be desired. Sandwiched between two three-and-outs, the veteran quarterback helped bring the offense inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line, but threw an interception in the end zone to erase the scoring opportunity. He finished his night completing three of his seven throws for 17 yards and that pick. While that wasn't an ideal showing for the presumptive Week 1 starter, things were more encouraging when Maye entered the fray. The No. 3 overall pick showed nice poise, leading scoring drives on his first two series. The second culminated in a four-yard touchdown run by Maye.
He played through halftime and for most of the third quarter, finishing his night completing six of his 11 throws for 47 yards while adding 15 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
As for the Eagles, they held out most of their starters on offense so former Steeler Kenny Pickett got the starting nod. He was faced with a steady amount of pressure during the opening half but was able to lead Philadelphia to a field goal drive early. Pickett was 11 of 13 passing in the first half for 67 yards while absorbing four sacks. Other Philly notables included rookie running back Will Shipley -- who caught four passes for 31 yards -- and veteran corner Avonte Maddox, who was the one that picked off Brissett in the end zone.
In the second half, Tanner McKee relieved Pickett coming out of the locker room and played well, completing 15 of his 19 passes for 140 yards while orchestrating the comeback. Both teams were shutout in the third quarter, but Philadelphia did outscore New England in the fourth, 11-3, to help pull away late.
For more on how this game unfolded, check out our takeaways below.
Patriots QB Drake Maye: The No. 3 overall pick looked the part in his extended showing in New England's second preseason game. After playing a single series in the opener, Maye played four series, coming in for Brissett after he played the bulk of the first quarter. Maye immediately led the Patriots on two scoring drives, including a 49-yard drive that ended with the young quarterback finding the end zone on a four-yard rush.
I thought Maye showed some solid poise early, particularly on a screen pass to JaMycal Hasty that went for 23 yards late in the second quarter. With Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean rocking toward him on a blitz, Maye zipped the ball to Hasty to get New England within striking distance of the end zone.
Maye stayed in under center to begin the third quarter and nearly had the highlight of the night on a deep ball to Javon Baker. After moving around well in the pocket, Maye uncorked a throw down the middle of the field and hit a diving Baker in the hands, but the rookie wideout was unable to make the grab. Even with it being an incompletion, that throw did flash both Maye and Baker's big-play ability.
Eagles RB Will Shipley: The fourth-round rookie out of Clemson was impressive throughout the evening whenever he had the ball in his hands. He rushed five times for 15 yards but was effective in the receiving game. Shipley caught all four of his targets for 31 yards, including a shifty 19-yard gain on a screen pass in the first half.
Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett: It wasn't the strongest showing by New England's presumptive Week 1 starter. While the offensive line didn't do him many favors, Brissett was also pretty inefficient in his three series. The Patriots went three-and-out twice over the stretch, and when they finally got into some sort of a rhythm and brought the ball inside the Philadelphia 10-yard line, he threw an interception in the red zone. Brissett finished his night completing three of his seven passes for 17 yards and that pick.
While Brissett isn't billed as a quarterback that will elevate the skill position players around him, the appeal is that he's expected to keep the floor high. With that in mind, it's troubling to see those types of mistakes by the veteran.
Eagles WR John Ross: The former first-round pick only had one catch for nine yards, but I thought he was impressive in the passing attack early on. He beat Patriots 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez on a go-route up the left sideline in the first quarter, but Pickett couldn't get the ball in a catchable area. His lone reception was another win against Gonzalez on a deep slant. On top of his receiving work, he also made a couple of steady kickoff returns, including a 36-yarder.
Eagles QB Kenny Pickett: It was an efficient first half for Pickett as he looks to maintain his standing as QB2 for Philly behind Jalen Hurts. He was 11 of 13 passing for 67 yards while leading the Eagles to a field goal drive. Pickett was under siege quite a bit in the opening half as he was sacked four times, but didn't make any dire mistakes under that pressure.
Eagles QB Tanner McKee: After Pickett started and played throughout the first half, McKee came in to begin the third quarter. Out of the gate, the 2023 sixth-round pick made some impressive throws, including a deep sideline ball to tight end E.J. Jenkins in the third quarter. After briefly exiting the game, he returned to help lead Philly to a late touchdown drive to help them pull away with the win. McKee finished with 15 completions on 19 pass attempts for 140 yards.
It wasn't all perfect for McKee, however. On his opening drive of the night and faced with a fourth-and-1, the Eagles tried to deploy the Tush Push. McKee fumbled the snap and recovered it, but was unable to move the chain allowing a turnover on downs. Still, he provided much more movement for Philadelphia's offense than Pickett, albeit with less talented opposition on the other side.
Patriots DE Keion White: Even before New England traded Matthew Judon, White was a player that New England's defense was counting on to take a leap. That has only grown in importance and the second-year pass rusher continues to flash this summer, notably sacking Kenny Pickett in the second quarter by blowing past Philadelphia's left tackle.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean: As he continues to come back from his Lisfranc injury that put a dent in his sophomore season, the former Georgia linebacker showed noticeable speed within Philly's defense. He applied pressure on Maye early, brought down receiver Ja'Lynn Polk behind the line of scrimmage after recognizing a screen, and had a strong stick on running back Kevin Harris. Dean finished his night with five tackles.
Arguably the most impressive catch made on Thursday night came at the start of the fourth quarter from E.J. Jenkins. Will Grier threw the ball a bit too high up the left side of the field, but the tight end was able to turn, elevate, and make the one-handed catch. While that 19-yard reception did move the chains and bring the Eagles inside the red zone, the drives stalled after that and the club settled for a field goal.
From here, the Patriots will head out on the road for the first time this summer and wrap up the preseason against the Washington Commanders next Sunday, Aug. 25. As for Philly, they'll head home for their lone exhibition at Lincoln Financial Field as they'll host the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, Aug. 24.
Patriots backup center Liam Fornadel botches the snap, and the Eagles recover. Ball game. Zappe doesn't get a chance to see if he could have led the game-winning drive tonight. Philadelphia is going to win 14-13.
The Patriots force a three-and-out, and Bailey Zappe has a chance to play hero on his only drive of the night at quarterback. New England gets the ball on their own 17 down by one without any timeouts and 2:25 left to play. A field goal would send Patriots fans home happy. New England kicker Joey Slye is two for two on his kicks tonight with makes from 38 and 45 yards.
New England goes three-and-out after Joe Milton absorbs sacks on two of the Patriots' three offensive plays, with an incompletion sandwiched in between them. Philadelphia has a chance to run the clock out with a few first downs up 14-13 with 2:48 left to play.
Eagles undrafted rookie running back Kendall Milton gets free for a one-yard touchdown, and Philadelphia head coach opts to go for the win and not the tie with a two-point conversion. Backup quarterback Tanner McKee hits 2024 fifth-round rookie receiver Ainias Smith for the two-pointer, which puts the Eagles up 14-13 with just over four minutes left to play.
New England's offense goes three-and-out once again after Milton can only gain seven yards on a third-down scramble after consecutive incompletions. The Eagles take over down 13-6 at their own 30 with 7:51 left. Tanner McKee remains in the game at QB.
McKee's drive ends with a three-and-out after an incomplete pass on third-and-six. He is nine for 11 passing with 71 yards tonight. Philly punts, and New England takes over at their own 17 up 13-6 with 8:53 left to play.
Tanner McKee is back in at QB after Will Grier plays just one drive. Intriguing move from Sirianni...
Patriots kicker caps off the seven-play, 21-yard drive with a 45-yard field goal after Joe Milton threw an incomplete pass on third and three. New England extends their lead back to seven, 13--6 with 10:10 left to play.
JaQuae Jackson has been ruled out of the game with an undisclosed injury.
Patriots sixth-round rookie quarterback Joe Milton checks into the game here in the fourth quarter. Milton rifled his first pass so hard it went right through the Eagles corner back Josh Jobe's hands and fell incomplete. Milton's intended target, wide receiver JaQuae Jackson, needed to be carted off with an injury after the play.
Will Grier's first drive lasts 11 plays that go for 61 yards, but it fizzles out after Grier was sacked, a delay of game penalty occurred and an incompletion was thrown. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott drains the 38-yard field goal to trim the Patriots' lead to four, 10-6, with 13:01 left in the game.
Will Grier, a Carolina Panthers third-round pick out of West Virginia in the 2019 NFL Draft, is now in at QB for the Eagles.
The Eagles are now 0-3 on fourth down tonight after Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo wins his first challenge of the preseason.
The call on the field is overturned by replay review after Jerod Mayo's challenge, so it's a turnover on downs for the Eagles. New England takes possession at their own 32 with 5:02 left in the third quarter leading 10-3.
A fourth down and one run by Eagles running back Lew Nichols is being challenged by Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. The ruling on the field is that Philly picked up the first down even though the run initially looked to be short. We'll see how this plays out after review.
Fumbles are contagious in Foxborough. After Tanner McKnee fumbles, Maye drops a snap on first-and-10. New England running back JaMycal Hasty recovered though. On third down, Maye uncorked a beautiful throw downfield to fellow rookie Javon Baker, but he can't quite hold on to complete the big play on third-and-10. Patriots go three-and-out and lead 10-3. Philadelphia will take over at their own 23 after an eight yard return on a 48-yard punt.
Eagles third-string quarterback Tanner McKee bobbles the handoff on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-one at the Patriots 37, which leads to him recovering his own fumbles and being stuffed for no gain. Philly turns it over on downs. New England ball at their own 37 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter, and they're up 10-3.
A Kenny Pickett scramble for three yards concludes the first half. The Patriots lead 10-3 with Drake Maye's four-yard touchdown on New England's final offensive drive of the half acting as the difference. New England outgained Philadelphia in total yards by 51 yards (116-65).
Pickett, Jalen Hurts' backup with the Eagles, started tonight and played the entire first half. He threw for 67 yards on 11 of 13 passing while running for six more on two carries. Patriots starter Jacoby Brissett threw for 17 yards and an interception on three of seven passing in the first quarter. Maye led both of New England's scoring drives, and he threw for 47 yards on five of seven passing while rushing for 10 yards on two carries, including Maye's four-yard touchdown run.
Drake Maye caps his first NFL touchdown drive with a keeper on a four-yard read option run. The Patriots now lead 10-3 with 1:57 left in the half.
Drake Maye is cooking on this drive. He has completed two of his three passes for 29 yards, which has New England down to first and goal at the Eagles seven after the 23-yard catch-and-run by Patriots running back JaMycal Hasty. They now face third and goal from the four as the two-minute warning hits. Game is tied at three.
Consecutive sacks of Pickett on third down and six and fourth down and eight create a turnover on downs. Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden and edge rusher Deatrich Wise Jr. secured the quarterback takedowns on third and fourth down consecutively. New England takes over on the Eagles 49 in a three to three game with 5:55 left in the first half.
The Eagles had to like that Dylan McMahon block on the screen where Will Shipley earned the 19-yard gain. Nick Gates had a nice block downfield too. Not a good night for Max Scharping, who is playing LT tonight.
Patriots edge rusher Keion White, a 2023 second-round pick, bursts through the Philly offensive line to sack Kenny Pickett for a loss of 12 yards. However, Pickett gets most of the yards back with a short dump off to 2024 fourth-round running back Will Shipley out of Clemson for a 19-yard gain. He then completes a short toss to backup tight end E.J. Jenkins for a six-yard pickup on third and three. The Eagles climb out of the whole created by White's sack.
Eagles speedy receiver John Ross takes the kickoff 32 yards to the Philly 31 to start the upcoming drive.
Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen is officially ruled out of tonight's game with ankle injury. The 2023 third-round pick played in 11 games, and started in Week 9 last season in a 28-23 home win against the Dallas Cowboys.
His first pass attempt results in a scramble for six yards. Maye's second dropback is a 12-yarder over the middle to fellow rookie Javon Baker. His next pass only went four yards, but Maye was aided by a roughing the passer penalty by Eagles 2023 first-round pick Nolan Smith.
Maye finishes the drive with 18 yards on three of four passing. His lone incompletion on a deep ball to Baker on third and eight results in Patriots kicker Joey Slye connecting on a 51-yard field goa. Game is all tied at three with 11:01 left in the first half.
After the Eagles punt, 2024 third overall draft pick Drake Maye checks in at quarterback for the Patriots to begin the second quarter.
Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen, a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, goes down with an injury on a five-yard Kenny Pickett pass.
Another third down, another Eagles pressure causing an errant Jacoby Brissett throw. The Patriots punt again, and it travels 61 yards for a touchback. Philadelphia takes over on their own 20 up 3-0 with 2:01 left in the first quarter.
Two weeks in a row Patrick Johnson had a key pass rush to end a drive.
Won the Eagles a game last week. Almost created a takeaway again this week.
