Eagles vs. Patriots 10 Observations: Is Kenny Gainwell RB1?

The Philadelphia Eagles won their third straight season opener under head coach Nick Sirianni, but there was plenty to talk about in the 25-20 win over the New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It was a win, and that can’t be overlooked. Good teams, like the Philadelphia Eagles are expected to be, find ways to win games that aren’t always pretty, especially on the road in gloomy conditions, and against a Hall of Fame defensive mind.

And that’s what the Eagles did, beating head coach Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots, 25-20, in the season-opener at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Before turning attention to Thursday’s home opener against the Minnesota Vikings, here are 10 observations from the victory:

LEAD BACK It wasn’t Rashaad Penny, who was inactive, or D’Andre Swift, who had one carry and two pass targets. The two newcomers to the backfield took a backseat to Kenny Gainwell in this one.

Gainwell had 14 carries for 54 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and four catches for 20 yards. Eight of his 18 touches came on the first drive of the game.

Truth be told, he didn’t look like a lead back, but it’s only one game.

“I don't ever want to come out of a game where D'Andre Swift has only two touches,” said head coach Nick Sirianni.

© Bill Streicher, USA TODAY

SIRIANNI FOURTH DOWN It was a gamble, but that’s what Sirianni likes to do. So, when it came to deciding between punting the ball or trying for a first down on fourth-and-two from New England’s 44, he rolled the dice and went for it just before the two-minute warning.

He said he had conviction that his offense would make a play and, if it didn’t, his defense would make a stop.

“You make that call that you feel good about but it's about the process that you put to get to that position; that there wasn't a hesitation in my mind because we have put ourselves in that scenario in the film room all week,” he said. “We didn't execute.”

Jalen Hurts throw over the middle to DeVonta Smith was low and Smith couldn’t bring it in.

Sirianni was right, his defense made a stop that sealed the win.

BELICHICK FOURTH DOWN Sirianni’s decision was the right decision in hindsight, and certainly better than the decision Belichick made when he went for a first on fourth-and-three at the Eagles’ 17 with 9:39 to play and down 22-14.

Haason Reddick brought pressure to force Mac Jones to get rid of the ball sooner than he would have wanted and his pass was incomplete.

“Made the best decision we could at the time,” said Belichick. “Didn't know we would be down there multiple times. Six minutes to go in the game. I don't know. If we had kicked it, I'm sure you would be asking why didn't we go for it.”

SIPOSS PUNTING Guess what? He wasn’t bad. The punter was good even. He had four punts that went for 197 yards, leaving him with a 49.3 average and 44.0 net.

WHAT IF? The Patriots appeared to pull within a field goal after Mac Jones ran in for a two-point score that made the score 25-22. Calvin Anderson was called for holding to negate the play. Backed up 10 yards, Jones’ two-point pass try was broken up by Zach Cunningham.

Had New England closed to within two, they would have only needed a field goal to tie rather than go for it on fourth-and-long in the final minute of the game.

GREATEST FEAR Nakobe Dean’s inability to make it through training camp fully healthy (he suffered an ankle injury) opened up concerns about him making it through a 17-game NFL schedule. Well, the undersized second-year linebacker couldn’t even make through his first start, leaving with a foot injury that had him in a walking boot after the game ended. He is expected to miss multiple weeks but will avoid surgery.

My belief, dating back to the offseason, is the Eagles are going to miss T.J. Edwards and Zach Cunningham more than some may realize.

GREEN DOT When Dean went out, the communication device inside his helmet was transferred to linebacker Christian Elliss for a few snaps. It then landed inside safety Reed Blankenship’s helmet.

“It was fine,” said Blankenship. “I felt like we swarmed to the ball. Obviously, there is a lot that we need to work on, but I felt like our effort was there. We showed the character of who we are and who we are as individuals. 

"We had a couple guys go down but we came together. We knew we had to get stops so we got it done.”

JOSH JOBE Cornerback James Bradberry went out with a head injury late in the game and he is in concussion protocol.

Josh Jobe entered for him and had a big hand in securing the victory. Literally, a big hand. Make it two. He pushed Rhamondre Stevenson out of bounds before he could get two feet down on a fourth-down throw inside the 10 in the final 30 seconds.

"He ain’t have two feet in, so I knew it was ball game,” said Jobe. “Mac Jones was looking at me, so I was hoping he'd throw it my way."

Jobe played eight defensive snaps.

DARIUS SLAY The veteran cornerback was the Eagles’ only defensive player to log 100 percent of the snaps. He played well, but the concern is his workload over the course of the season. He wore down a bit last year, so it would behoove the Eagles to find a way to spell him when/if they can.

ROOKIE SNAPS

Jalen Carter played the most, logging 40 defensive snaps (50 percent). The other first-round pick, Nolan Smith, got just seven snaps on defense, but 13 on special teams.

Neither Sydney Brown nor Kelee Ringo didn’t play any defense but Brown got 19 special team snaps, Ringo had 17.

Tanner McKee, Tyler Steen, and undrafted free agent Eli Ricks were inactive.