Boomer Esiason believes he saw ‘glimpses of hope’ during Patriots’ Week 1 loss to Eagles
Patriots
“I know nobody likes moral victories, especially up in New England.”
The Patriots opened their 2023 regular season with a loss on Sunday, as Mac Jones and New England’s offense were unable to orchestrate a late-game comeback en route to a 25-20 loss to the Eagles.
A loss is a loss, especially in a game where New England had two chances in the fourth quarter to orchestrate a game-winning drive against the reigning NFC Champions.
But count former NFL QB and current CBS analyst Boomer Esiason among those who were encouraged by the Patriots’ play on Sunday, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“I know nobody likes moral victories, especially up in New England on a day that you’re honoring your best player in the history of the sport, but I have to tell you, I saw glimpses of hope, especially on offense with Bill O’Brien calling the plays and putting Mac Jones in a really good spot,” Esiason said during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday morning. “And quite frankly, the defense played, I thought, really, really well.
“And if it weren’t for that pick-six by Darius Slay and maybe the fumble by Ezekiel Elliott, overall I would say that I would give the slight edge to the Patriots outplaying the Philadelphia Eagles, although the scoreboard didn’t show it.”
The Patriots got off to a disastrous start against Philadelphia, falling into a 16-0 deficit before the end of the first quarter. Most of that was self-inflicted by the Patriots, starting with Slay’s 70-yard pick-six on New England’s first offensive drive of the evening.
New England’s very next offensive play ended in disaster, with Elliott’s fumble giving the Eagles possession on the Patriots’ 26-yard line. Five plays later, Jalen Hurts hit DeVonta Smith on a five-yard pass in the end zone to put another touchdown on the board.
But Jones and the Patriots righted the ship as the game went on.
Jones finished the game 35-for-54 for 316 yards and three touchdowns, with six different players recording at least 30 receiving yards in the loss.
Bill O’Brien’s revamped offense created issues for the Eagles’ defense by way of a rotating assortment of various schemes and formations that allowed Jones and Co. to push the pace and move the ball with some authority.
And even though New England’s last two fourth-quarter drives stalled, the Patriots came close to delivering a knockout blow against Philly, especially if rookie Kayshon Boutte managed to keep both feet in on a critical fourth-down play in the red zone.
“That performance yesterday by the New England Patriots would give me hope if I were a Patriot fan, especially the passing game,” Esiason noted. “You know, Mac throws a great ball to Boutte, but he just can’t get a second foot down. It would have been apropos to win the game at the end of the game with Tom Brady in the house, but unfortunately, Boutte couldn’t keep his second foot down.”
Even with a sluggish start and a lackluster finish, New England showed plenty of promise on an offensive unit that was regularly sputtering under Matt Patricia in 2022.
There were even better returns on the defensive side of the ball.
Six of the Eagles’ 11 non-kneel down possessions featured zero first downs, while only one traveled more than 50 yards. Philadelphia only averaged 4.1 yards per play on Sunday and converted just four of its 13 third-down opportunities.
With a stout defense already in place, New England could be in good shape in a competitive AFC East if its offense finds a way to build off of some of the positive gains made against a very good Eagles team.
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