Eagles win a blowout turned nail-biter in New England

Despite allowing 45 points in back to back weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled out a win against the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. In what started as an imminent blowout by Philadelphia, the Patriots clawed back to make the game interesting in the final five minutes of the game. Ultimately, a combination of Patriots miscues and Eagles special teams led to a 35-28 Philadelphia victory.

The Eagles entered the 4th quarter up 28-14, but turnovers and missed opportunities allowed Tom Brady the chance to claw back with tow fourth quarter touchdowns. The game was a literal rollercoaster for Eagles and Patriots fans alike.

They MVP’s for this game are the Eagles special teams and defense, who accounted for the three touchdowns that made the difference today. A Chris Maragos blocked punt resulted in a Najee Goode touchdown, a Malcolm Jenkins 100 yard pick-six, and a Darren Sproles punt return touchdown helped keep Philadelphia in this game. Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz had the Eagles two offensive touchdowns.

Byron Maxwell also had an interception in the endzone midway through the game.

Tom Brady received little help around him this afternoon. The Patriots quarterback was sacked four times today and saw his receivers drop multiple balls on the final series of the game. Injuries to Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, and Dion Lewis ment the NFL’s third all-time passing touchdowns leader had the B-squad lining up around him.

Danny Amendola was back from a knee injury for New England, but he was clearly limited.

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford finished 14/24 with two touchdown passes and no turnovers. The Eagles offense relied heavily on the run game, which was generated by veteran Darren Sproles. The team’s big money free agent signing DeMarco Murray only had eight carries today, and had only two positive rushing yards after the first six attempts.

New England has now lost back to back games for the first time since 2012. They will play three of their last four games on the road, including a visit to the Houston Texans and JJ Watt.

Philadelphia moves to 5-7 and a renewed chance at the NFC East. A loss by the Washington Redskins would put New York, Philadelphia, and Washington in a three-way tie for the division title. Philadelphia hosts LeSean McCow and the Buffalo Bills next week as they start three of their last four games at home. They end their season on the road agains the New York Giants, which may essentially be a playoff game for the division crown.