This One Lopsided Matchup Could Decide Patriots-Eagles Opener

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Philadelphia Eagles boast a sack-happy defensive front seven that Bill Belichick called “the best pass-rushing front in the league by, I’d say, quite a bit.”

Whether the Patriots can withstand it — and do so without a fully healthy offensive line — could determine who emerges victorious in Sunday’s highly anticipated season opener at Gillette Stadium.

The Eagles piled up 70 sacks last season en route to a Super Bowl berth, 15 more than than any other NFL club and tied for third-most in league history. Only one other team this century has even cracked 65, and that was way back in 2000 (New Orleans, 66).

Philly lost standout defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (11 sacks last season) in free agency, but Haason Reddick (16), Josh Sweat (11), Brandon Graham (11) and Fletcher Cox (seven) all return. They’re joined, too, by a pair of potential impact rookies in D-tackle Jalen Carter and linebacker Nolan Smith, who both were standout defenders on Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams.

It’s the deepest, most imposing collection of pass rushers in the NFL. And it’ll be facing a Patriots O-line that’s struggled to get and keep its preferred starting five on the field.

Starting right guard Mike Onwenu sat out all of spring practice and nearly all of training camp following offseason ankle surgery, only debuting Aug. 23. Starting left guard Cole Strange injured his knee in the first full-contact drill of the summer and missed nearly a month. Both remained limited in practice Wednesday.

Two potential starters at right tackle are on injured reserve (short-term for Riley Reiff, season-ending for Conor McDermott) after struggling in camp. The likely top option for Week 1, Calvin Anderson, didn’t practice from the end of minicamp through cutdown day as he recovered from a “serious” illness that threatened his career.

Anderson was a full participant Wednesday, but it could be a tough ask for him to go wire-to-wire this Sunday after such a long layoff. And even if he can, right tackle is not his natural position. Anderson played there in the past, but the vast majority of his NFL snaps have come on the left side.

Adding to the disruption, left tackle Trent Brown popped up on the injury report Wednesday, with the team listing him as limited with an illness. The Patriots badly need Brown healthy, engaged and on form this season, especially with the uncertainty surrounding their other tackle spot.

The only O-line starter who’s entering the season without any injury/health concerns is center David Andrews, who was a full participant throughout training camp. That’s not where you want to be with a team like Philly coming to town.

The Patriots also head into the season with zero proven depth up front. The five other O-linemen on their 53-man roster have a combined 33 snaps of regular-season NFL experience, all by tackle Vederian Lowe with Minnesota last season. Atonio Mafi, Sidy Sow and Jake Andrews are rookies, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. has yet to appear in an official game. Lowe and Wheatley also just joined the team via trade a week ago.

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David Andrews, speaking after Wednesday’s practice, hinted that one or more of those unseasoned backups might need to see game action this weekend.

“It’s very rare that five guys are going to start the whole year,” Andrews said. “I think good news is guys are coming back. These weren’t season-ending injuries, so they’re coming back, and a lot of young guys have been getting reps all summer. It hasn’t just started this week for them. It’s been very early on in this training camp, through the spring, everything.”

Mafi and Sow both saw substantial reps with the top offense during camp. The former could be used to spell Strange or Onwenu if either needs to be put on a pitch count, or start if one of the two can’t go. The Patriots also could stick Mafi at right guard and move Onwenu to tackle, where he performed well in the past.

Sow primarily played right guard in college at Eastern Michigan, and he was inconsistent this summer in his transition to right tackle. The Patriots’ late acquisitions of Lowe and Wheatley suggested they weren’t sold on Sow immediately being a reliable contributor.

“I’ve been in those shoes,” Andrews said. “I’ve started Week 1 as a rookie (in 2015) — three of us, I think — so I’ve been in those shoes, and we had a lot of success. So (it’s about) just going out there, playing hard, knowing what to do and the rest will take care of itself.”

The silver lining for the Patriots is that the man now coordinating their offense, Bill O’Brien, should be better equipped to scheme around O-line deficiencies than his predecessor, Matt Patricia, was last season. Expect O’Brien to look to limit Mac Jones’ exposure by employing a heavy dose of quick-passing concepts and run-pass options (RPOs).

“They’re really good,” O’Brien said of the Eagles. “They have a lot of really good players, a really good scheme. We’re going to have to be really detailed in our approach.”

But scheme only goes so far, especially against a pass rush this talented. If some of the blocking issues we saw this summer persist, Jones — who was sacked twice in three drives in his lone preseason appearance — could be in for a long and painful night.