Instant Observations Following Patriots' 17-10 Win Over Eagles
Both teams were fresh off their byes and both teams looked much like they have looked all year. The Philadelphia Eagles-New England Patriots game ended with a 17-10 victory for the Patriots in another defensive battle in Week 11.
Let's go over some observations from the ninth win of the season for New England.
Defense wakes up after a long Eagles touchdown drive
The Eagles were in control, the offensive line was bullying the boogeymen, the defense looked lazy, not finishing tackles, and Miles Sanders was making Patriots' fans question if this defense was legit. All that was topped off by a controversial Dallas Goedert touchdown on a slant route.
Belichick would bring his whole defense together on the bench right after that drive and whatever he said must have worked.
The defense would go on to put a boatload of pressure on Carson Wentz, sealing the edge well, and make every Eagles' drive a tremendous struggle to just muster together a first down.
Tempo solving offensive struggles this season
We saw it two weeks ago where the Patriots' offense went no huddle and picked up the tempo, catching the Ravens off guard.
This week, to start the second half, a once again dead offense resorted to the quicker tempo offense to start moving the ball. This strategy worked like a charm and opened up the third quarter with a Julian Edelman passing touchdown to Philip Dorsett.
The question remains to be asked if this should be the offensive look the Patriots give going forward. This offense has struggled to really find an identity this season and going forward, the no-huddle offense might become their bread and butter and what this team does best.
Celebration time: Marshall Newhouse's time is up
There are three certainties in life; death, taxes, and bad games out of Marshall Newhouse. Luckily, for Brady, the running game, and fans everywhere, Isaiah Wynn is eligible for return this upcoming week against the Cowboys. Thus, ending the Marshall Newhouse's run at left tackle in New England..
This game, much like the ones before it, featured many plays of Tom Brady dropping back to pass and Eagles' edge defenders speeding into the backfield on Brady's backside milliseconds later. That should become less frequent going forward with the return of the former first round pick at left tackle.
N'Keal Harry shows flashes; overall solid debut
No, he was not an explosive force today. He did not look like Randy Moss, like some fans anticipated when he was first drafted. However, N'Keal Harry showed nice hands, nice burst, and looked great in the blocking game as well.
Give him a little more time in the NFL and he should be a solid contributor come a few games from now.
Overall takeaway
The win is something to build off of. The defense put together another good game. This time they did it against a good offense. This team will continue to get better and improve and we should all be excited for that.
