In an exciting game in Foxboro, MA, that came down to the final drive in the fourth quarter with quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots driving, the Eagles shocked the world defeating New England 35-28.
The Eagles started with the ball first and looked better than they did the previous two weeks against the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Early and often, the Eagles made it an emphasis to get the ball in the hands of running back Darren Sproles. The Eagles were starting to the move the ball, but shot themselves in the foot with penalties on the offensive line.
Brady and the Patriots would score first on their third drive of the game. Brady, who was without tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman, found wide receiver Keshawn Martin for a 19-yard pass to give New England a first down. With the ball at the Eagles’ 46-yard line, Brady found wide receiver Danny Amendola for a 1o-yard pass and then tight end Scott Chandler for a 30-yard pitch and catch.
At the end of the first quarter, the Eagles and Patriots were tied at 0-0.
To open the second quarter, Brady found running back James White for a four-yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-0. After the Eagles only possessed the ball for 2:17, New England got the ball back and put together another scoring drive. On 2nd-and-15, Brady dropped back and was looking deep for Martin but Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins was called for a defensive pass interference.
After the pass interference, running back LeGarrette Blount got the Patriots in the red zone, where Brady found Amendola for a 10-yard touchdown pass.
Now, the Patriots led 14-0 and was going for the kill as Nate Ebner tried an onside/pooch kick trying to catch the Eagles off guard. With great field position, the Eagles finally put together a scoring drive as quarterback Sam Bradford found Zach Ertz for a five-yard touchdown pass.
This was the beginning of a momentum shift for the Eagles as with eight seconds left in the first half, safety Chris Maragos blocked Patriots punter Ryan Allen’s punt and linebacker Najee Goode scooped the ball up for a touchdown. The Eagles went into the half tied up 14-14 with the 10-1 Patriots.
In the third quarter, the Eagles defense forced a turnover as Brady’s pass intended for Amendola was tipped by safety Walter Thurmond and intercepted by safety Malcolm Jenkins, which was returned 99 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles finally had a lead, 21-14 with 7:26 to go in the quarter.
Then, New England got the ball back but did not do anything with it, which resulted in a punt. When they punted it away, Sproles took the punt 83 yards for a touchdown and put the Eagles up 28-14.
The momentum continued to build on the Eagles’ side as on the next Patriots’ drive, where Brady caught a pass from Amendola on a trick play for 36 yards, New England turned the ball over once again. This time, Brady was going deep looking for wide receiver Brandon LaFell but was intercepted by cornerback Byron Maxwell.
After the interception, Philadelphia turned garbage to gold by putting together a 12-play, 80-yard drive ending with a Jordan Matthews’ touchdown catch. With 11:09 to go in the fourth quarter, the Eagles held a 35-14 lead.
But the game was not over as Brady put the team on his back leading them to two consecutive scoring drives to cut the Eagles lead down to 35-28. Finally, with 1:02 left in the game, running back Kenjon Barner fumbled the ball on 3rd-and-5, giving the Patriots one last gasp of hope.
On the final drive, Eagles cornerback Eric Rowe stepped up big time as Brady targeted him multiple times including a deep ball intended for LaFell.
The Eagles are now 5-7 and next week will face LeSean McCoy and the Buffalo Bills at 1:00 pm on CBS at Lincoln Financial Field.
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