FOXBORO, Mass. -- Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots suffered their first (unofficial) loss of the 2024 campaign as the Philadelphia Eagles earned a 14-13 verdict at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
The performance of rookie quarterback Drake Maye stood out as a positive development while Jacoby Brissett and the starting offense was troublesome.
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Here are three studs and three duds from Patriots-Eagles:
Studs
Keion White, DE
White has been a star throughout training camp and continued to produce against the Eagles. He easily beat Eagles backup offensive lineman Max Scharping off the edge for a second-quarter sack, one of two recorded during a second-quarter drive (Deatrich Wise Jr. had the other). White had another near sack later in the first half, after starting on the defensive line and rushing both from the interior and edge.
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Drake Maye, QB
The rookie quarterback completed five of his first seven passes and led a pair of first-half scoring drives. Maye concluded the night 6-for-11 for 47 passing yards and added four rushes for 15 yards with one touchdown. Maye had a handful of impressive plays including his third-down completion to Javon Baker on his first drive, a perfectly-placed deep ball to Baker on his third drive, which was dropped, and a mobile four-yard touchdown run.
Raekwon McMillan, LB
The Patriots linebacker can come downhill and laid the freakin' wood. McMillan finished with a team-high nine tackles, six of which came in the first half. He registered a run stuff on Philadelphia's first drive and a tackle for loss on Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell the next possession.
Honorable mention: Joey Slye, K
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Duds
Vederian Lowe, OT
The Patriots starting left tackle almost got Maye killed on a third-quarter possession, which proved to be Maye's final snap of the game. Lowe overplayed outside linebacker Nolan Smith on the edge, allowing Smith to get inside and hit Maye from behind. Lowe also committed a false start on Maye's first drive of the game. In fairness to Lowe, he was not the only offensive linemen who struggled. It's at the point where even Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is calling it a "dramatic drop-off" from one unit to the other.
Jacoby Brissett, QB
The Patriots veteran quarterback simply cannot turn the ball over in the red zone like he did with his first-quarter interception. Brissett, lauded for his ability to protect the ball, tried to force a throw to tight end Austin Hooper and Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox read it like a book. Maddox jumped in front of Hooper on the third-down throw and took it the other way, rather than Brissett leading the Patriots to an early scoring drive.
Javon Baker, WR
Baker was responsible for a nice third-down conversion in the first half, but had what would've been the play of the game slip through his hands at the start of the second half. The fourth-round rookie beat Philadelphia cornerback Kelee Ringo off the line and got open, but couldn't hang onto it. Baker admitted it was one he should've caught. That play came after Ringo pushed Baker out of bounds on a third-and-8 on Maye's first drive, which caused the Patriots to settle for a field goal.
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Honorable mentions: Christian Gonzalez, Atonio Mafi
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports Images
