Final, Eagles 35-28: The Patriots ran out of magic.
Tom Brady and Co. picked up one first down with under a minute remaining, but the drive stalled from there. The Eagles took over on downs and took a knee to seal an upset victory.
It was a strange game, with New England making several uncharacteristic mistakes, especially on special teams. The Patriots now have lost back-to-back games after starting the season 10-0.
Fourth quarter, 1:02, Eagles 35-28: This is it. The Patriots have the football at their own 25-yard line after Jamie Collins forced a huge fumble on third down.
Kenjon Barner coughed it up and Malcom Brown recovered it. New England has no timeouts remaining.
Fourth quarter, 3:00, Eagles 35-28: I said not to go anywhere.
Tom Brady completed a 25-yard pass to James White on 4th-and-12, keeping alive a drive that ended with Brady sneaking across the goal line from 1 yard out.
White has been a beast in this game, racking up 103 receiving yards on nine catches. It’s the first 100-yard receiving game of White’s career.
Brady, who now has 300 passing yards, found Brandon LaFell for a 12-yard pass to set up his 1-yard touchdown plunge.
It’s up to the Patriots’ defense to stop the Eagles, as there’s plenty of time on the clock.
Fourth quarter, 5:27, Eagles 35-21: It’s not over yet. While the odds certainly aren’t in New England’s favor, the Patriots aren’t going down without a fight.
Tom Brady capped a seven-play, 71-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Scott Chandler. The drive took two minutes, 18 seconds off the clock.
Brady started the drive with an 11-yard pass to Chandler, who’s had a good game. He also hooked up with James White and Keshawn Martin for big plays before lofting the TD pass to Chandler.
The Patriots recovered an onside kick and now will look to make this a one-score game. Don’t go anywhere.
Fourth quarter, 7:45, Eagles 35-14: Philadelphia couldn’t add to its lead. The Eagles also didn’t take much time off the clock, so the Patriots still are alive. Barely.
Fourth quarter, 10:10, Eagles 35-14: The Patriots did absolutely nothing to help their cause on the ensuing drive. They went three-and-out, prompting a Ryan Allen punt.
The Eagles take over at their own 28-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 11:09, Eagles 35-14: Well, it looks like the Patriots aren’t winning this game.
The Patriots just gave up a 10-yard passing touchdown to Jordan Matthews, and they’d need a herculean effort to get back into this one.
The Patriots’ defense isn’t to blame for this loss, but it’s certainly not helping that they’ve allowed 125 yards on 25 carries without Dont’a Hightower at linebacker.
Third quarter, 2:16, Eagles 28-14: This game is finding new ways to get uglier.
There was one fun play, though. Danny Amendola completed a 36-yard pass to Tom Brady. On the next play, Brady threw a deep interception into the end zone. Patriots fans briefly were happy again. Such things are fleeting this afternoon.
Here’s the fun one:
Third quarter, 4:18, Eagles 28-14: Where did the Patriots go?
The Patriots just let up an 83-yard punt return touchdown to Darren Sproles and now trail by two scores with over 19 minutes left.
Brady desperately misses Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, but that’s no excuse for two special-teams breakdowns.
Third quarter, 7:25, Eagles 21-14: The Patriots just lost the lead.
The Patriots got down to the 1-yard line on a 24-yard completion to James White. They then tried a hurry-up run and lost 4 yards. Brady then threw an incompletion to Amendola. On third down, Brady went to Amendola again, the ball was tipped up and picked off by Malcolm Jenkins, who returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
The Patriots’ hurry-up runs rarely work, and this one took them out of an easy score.
Amendola had a costly drop — his first of the season — earlier in the drive that could have gone for a touchdown.
Third quarter, 10:40, 14-14: The Patriots have the ball on the Eagles’ 46-yard line after their defense forced a three-and-out.
Third quarter, 11:35, 14-14: The Patriots picked up a first down but couldn’t convert on third and 9 on their second set of downs.
Ryan Allen’s punt was downed at the Eagles’ 6-yard line. The Patriots’ defense could give their offense good field position with a stand here early in the third quarter.
Second quarter, 0:08, 14-14: I’m left scratching my head after the Patriots’ last drive. The Patriots called two runs then a timeout. Then Brady sacked himself for a 3-yard loss, and the Eagles were forced to take an injury timeout. The Patriots ran the ball again, then hurried to the line for an incompletion to Scott Chandler. The Eagles blocked Ryan Allen’s punt, leading to a Philly touchdown.
The Patriots didn’t seem to know whether to try to score or drain out the clock. They picked neither and suffered for it.
Second quarter, 1:32, Patriots 14-7: The Patriots allowed a first down to Darren Sproles then clamped down on the Eagles. They now have the ball on their own 14-yard line with a minute and a half to get down the field before the half.
Second quarter, 3:04, Patriots 14-7: The Patriots picked up just 2 yards on three plays before punting back to the Eagles. The Eagles have the ball on their 44-yard line.
Second quarter, 4:04, Patriots 14-7: The Eagles are on the board.
The Patriots let up 20- and 16-yard catches to help the Eagles move down the field. Patriots safety Devin McCourty slipped and let up a 5-yard touchdown to tight end Zach Ertz to finish off the series.
The Eagles had good field position after special teamer Nate Ebner attempted a drop-kick onside kick.
Second quarter, 7:47, Patriots 14-0: It didn’t really matter which receivers are at Brady’s disposal. He’s still firing strikes.
Brady capped off the Patriots’ drive with an 11-yard TD pass to Danny Amendola. That’s Brady’s 30th TD of the season.
Brady is now 8 of 12 for 92 yards with two scores. The Patriots have 53 yards on 13 carries, as well, as the ground game is starting to look serviceable again.
Second quarter, 12:40, Patriots 7-0: The Eagles picked up a first down then stalled offensively. Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler picked up his second pass breakup of the game. Bradford is 1 of 3 for 4 yards targeting Butler so far.
Second quarter, 14:57, Patriots 7-0: Brady hit running back James White for an easy 4-yard touchdown pass. Brady is 6 of 10 for 70 yards with a touchdown after that drive, in which he hit tight end Scott Chandler for 30 yards, Brandon LaFell for 10 yards, Danny Amendola for 10 yards and Keshawn Martin for 19 yards.
That was Brady’s 421st career touchdown. He passed Dan Marino for third all-time in career passing touchdowns.
First quarter, 3:43: The Patriots forced a three-and-out. Eagles starting running back DeMarco Murray is struggling to move the ball. He has four carries for 7 yards. Kenjon Barner and Darren Sproles have four carries for 46 yards. The Pariots are probably hoping the Eagles keep feeding Murray.
First quarter, 4:37: Perhaps both teams should just keep running the football.
Brady is 1 for 3 for -3 yards. He’s also been sacked twice for a loss of 14 yards.
Blount has 24 yards on three carries so far.
The Patriots punted again. The Eagles have the ball on their own 43-yard line.
First quarter, 6:32: Still no score here as the Eagles tripped over themselves again with three penalties. They had a delay of game and false start to begin the drive, then they committed a costly facemask.
The Patriots have allowed 55 yards on seven carries with no Hightower on defense.
Slater is questionable to return with a stinger.
First quarter, 9:17: The Patriots had some success with the ground game early, with 5- and 9-yard carries by LeGarrette Blount and a 6-yard jet sweep for Damaris Johnson. A sack stalled the Patriots’ drive, however.
Matthew Slater stayed on the turf with what appears to be a left shoulder injury after the punt. He walked off the field and is being looked at by trainers on the sideline.
First quarter, 12:12: The Patriots prevented the Eagles from scoring on the game’s first series. Safety Patrick Chung and cornerback Malcolm Butler made nice pass breakups early. The Patriots let up 21 yards on three carries. The Eagles were flagged for holding and illegal hands to the face, which didn’t help as they attempted to drive down the field.
Amendola was back for the first punt of the game. The Patriots have the ball on their own 17-yard line.
First quarter, 15:00: The Patriost won the coin toss and elected to defer.
The Eagles will get the ball to start the game.
#LetsGooooo
3:50 p.m.: Rookie Tre’ Jackson has replaced Shaq Mason on the Patriots’ starting offensive line.
Here’s the Patriots’ projected O-line, based on warmups:
LT Sebastian Vollmer
LG Josh Kline
C Bryan Stork
RG Tre’ Jackson
RT Marcus Cannon
3:40 p.m.: Tom Brady entered the field to his usual intro music: Jay Z’s “Public Service Announcement.”
The quarterback is fired up, as usual.
3:35 p.m.: Newly signed wideout Damaris Johnson is fielding punts with Danny Amendola during warmups. Receiver Keshawn Martin is returning kickoffs.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots risk Amendola by having him return punts during the game, despite a bum knee.
3 p.m.: Patriots starting linebacker Dont’a Hightower officially is inactive for Sunday’s matchup.
Here are the Patriots’ full inactives list:
LB Dont’a Hightower
WR Julian Edelman
TE Rob Gronkowski
CB Justin Coleman
RB Trey Williams
Safety Jordan Richards
DT Dominique Easley
New Patriots wide receiver Damaris Johnson will make his debut. Tight end Michael Williams makes his return after sitting out last week with a knee sprain.
2:10 p.m. ET: New England Patriots star linebacker Jamie Collins is expected to make his long-awaited return from an illness Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Collins sat out four games with an undisclosed sickness. The third-year pro appeared to have lost some weight during his absence while spotted in the Patriots’ locker room Friday. Collins said Friday he expects to make his return against the Eagles.
Collins’ biggest impact might be as a pass rusher against the Eagles. Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley likely won’t play after sitting out practice Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury. The Patriots might depend on Collins to pressure Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford up the middle. Collins recorded 4.5 sacks in the Patriots’ first seven games.
The Patriots-Eagles matchup kicks off at 4:25 p.m., and will be aired locally on FOX. The Patriots’ inactives will be released an hour and a half before game time. Wide receiver Danny Amendola reportedly is expected to play, which should give the Patriots’ offense a boost. There’s no word if linebacker Dont’a Hightower will play on his sprained knee. Wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski already have been ruled out for the Patriots.
Stay here for updates and analysis up to and throughout the game.
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images