Here are 3 reasons why the Patriots lost to Philadelphia Eagles

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots regular-season opener was an emotional roller coaster.

Tom Brady was present for the Patriots Week 1 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The quarterback addressed the Gillette Stadium crowd for the first time since retiring from the NFL. Brady spoke during halftime after owner Robert Kraft announced the quarterback would be indicted into the Patriots Hall of Fame next year, on June 12.

Brady’s appearance was only part of the emotion on this night.

The Patriots had a horrible, awful, no good, very bad start on Sunday. Mac Jones and offense started this season with two turnovers and three, three-and-outs. That led to an early Eagles lead and plenty of boos for the 2023 Patriots.

The negative emotion quickly dissipated as the Patriots showed they were better than their horrid start on Sunday. The Patriots put forth a solid effort against the defending NFC champions on Sunday and gave the Gillette Stadium crowd more reasons to cheer than just Tom Brady. However, it wasn’t enough on this night, as the Patriots lost 25-20 to the Eagles.

Here’s what went wrong for the Patriots:

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Offensive mistakes cost Patriots

The Patriots first offensive series of 2023 started off fast but ended in disaster. The slow start ultimately led to the Patriots first loss of the season.

In the opening drive, Bill O’Brien’s group looked like they had momentum with a blend of pass and run plays, but just as they crossed midfield, Jones’ pass on third down bounced off the hands of Kendrick Bourne. The ball was caught by Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, who brought it back 70 yards for a touchdown.

The pick-6 gave Philadelphia a 10-0 lead at 5:12 of the first quarter.

It got worse for this group. On the very next offensive snap, Ezekiel Elliott fumbled a Jones’ pass. Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis forced the fumble and linebacker Zach Cunningham recovered the ball at the 25-yard line.

The Patriots defense then had a Deatrich Wise sack negated due to a Kyle Dugger defensive hold call. What should’ve been a third-and-14 turned into a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 5-yard touchdown on the next play and the Eagles led 16-0 at 2:39 of the first quarter.

Following the two turnovers, the Patriots offense went three-and-out in their next three series. All three three-and-outs happened with the offense near midfield due to solid returns by Ty Montgomery and Marcus Jones.

The slow start was the Patriots biggest undoing on Sunday.

Offense found momentum, but lost it

The Patriots offense found some life in the late second quarter. The problem was they couldn’t maintain it.

After three, three-and-outs in a row, the group rebounded in their sixth drive. Here we saw Jones air it out with some success. The Patriots quarterback went 7-of-8 for 67 yards, capping the series off with a 9-yard touchdown to Hunter Henry at 4:34 of the second quarter.

Jones had two big third-down conversions on this series, hitting Mike Gesicki (nine yards) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (15 yards) to move the chains.

Jones then took the Patriots downfield in a well-executed 2-minute drive to close the gap to 16-14. The quarterback went 5-for-5 for 50 yards and a touchdown to Bourne with 25 seconds left in the half. Jones ended the half going 12-of-13 for 117 yards with two touchdowns and the Patriots trailed 16-14.

The Patriots struggled to find the same momentum in the third period. The group started the half with a quick three-and-out. They had a promising drive the next time out while down 19-14. After being inside the 30-yard line, however, two holding penalties knocked them out of field goal range. This drive, at the end of the third, was a lost opportunity to close the gap.

In the fourth quarter, now down 22-14, the Patriots threatened again. This time, Henry hauled in a one-handed catch for a gain of 12 on fourth down to move the chain. That put the Patriots at the 24-yard line. The offense tried for one more fourth-down conversion but Jones’ pass fell incomplete and the group turned the ball over 17 yards away from the end zone with 9:39 left on the clock.

The decision to not kick a field goal hurt them in the end.

Down 25-14, the offense found life. Jones took the offense 75 yards downfield in just six plays. Rhamondre Stevenson’s 32-yard catch and run put the Patriots within striking distance. Jones then hit Bourne for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:37 remaining.

A defensive turnover by Jabrill Peppers gave the offense one last chance to right their earlier wrongs. Jones & Co. received the ball back with 3:28 left (just nine seconds after their touchdown). However, this drive went nowhere as Jones was sacked on second down. Third down saw an incomplete passes and the Patriots were then called for delay of game on fourth-and-12. Jones’ fourth-and-17 attempt fell incomplete.

The offense got another chance with two minutes left. Jones hit Mike Gesicki for 17 yards to bring the Patriots to the 19-yard line. The group stalled after that. Facing a fourth-and-11, with 29 seconds left, Jones nearly hit Kayshon Boutte at the 7-yard line for a first down. The officials reviewed the play and ruled Boutte out of bounds as he didn’t get his second foot in bounds.

That resulted in a turnover on downs and the Patriots comeback effort fell short.

The Patriots scored 14 points in the second quarter on Sunday. They scored just six points in the other three quarters. That was a big difference in this one.

Defense bent but didn’t break

The Patriots defense put together a valiant effort on Sunday night. It wasn’t easy, but they kept the Patriots in this game early.

The Eagles took it to the defense out of the gate. Following the opening kickoff, Jalen Hurts and his offense quickly marched down the Gillette Stadium field. With a steady rainfall, the Eagles leaned on their run game. Hurts ran for a gain of 14 on a third-and-11 play to set Philadelphia up with a first-and-goal. The Patriots defense bent but didn’t break. On third-and-6, from the 6-yard line, Matthew Judon notched his first sack of the season on Hurts. Jake Elliott hit a 32-yard field goal to put the Eagles up, 3-0, at 7:42 of the first quarter.

The defense settled down in the first half after two offensive turnovers led to two touchdowns.

Following the second Eagles touchdown, the Patriots held Philadelphia to three, three-and-outs in a row. After being down 16-0 in the first quarter, the Patriots went into halftime down 16-14.

In the second half, Philadelphia made three important field goals.

After scoring at 2:39 of the first quarter, the Eagles didn’t score again until 8:48 of the third quarter when Jake Elliott hit a 56-yard field goal and Philadelphia led 19-14. The Eagles struck, again, to start the fourth quarter, getting a 48-yard field goal from Elliott. With 13:21 remaining, Philadelphia led, 22-14. Elliott finished this one off with a 51-yard field goal with 5:33 remaining to put the Eagles up, 25-14.

Just when it looked like it was over, down 25-20, Jabrill Peppers forced a fumble on Hurts with 3:35 left on the clock. Marcus Jones recovered the ball at the 41-yard line to give the offense another chance.

The next time the Eagles took the field, Christian Gonzalez broke up a Hurts pass on fourth down to force a turnover on downs with two minutes remaining.