Patriots Country

Patriots Rally Within 16-14 of Eagles At Halftime

The New England Patriots head into the locker room trailing in their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, but have momentum on their side.

Jon Alfano

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On a day where the New England Patriots are celebrating legendary quarterback Tom Brady, they're channeling some of his comeback heroics.

The Patriots find themselves in a hole at halftime against the Philadelphia Eagles, trailing 16-14 heading into the locker room. However, momentum is firmly on their side after scoring two straight touchdowns to end the half.

New England started off very slow on offense, not getting on the board until less than five minutes remained in the half. More importantly, two turnovers led directly to 13 Eagles points.

Patriots - Eagles

The biggest blunder of the half came when a deflected pass by Patriots cornerback Mac Jones fell into the hands of Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, who ran it back 70 yards for a pick six after a pitiful tackling effort by Jones. Then on first play of the next drive, running back Ezekiel Elliott fumbled after a reception and the Eagles recovered deep in Patriots territory. Four plays later, Philadelphia found the end zone to extend its lead.

Late in the second quarter, though, New England's offense finally began to come alive. The Patriots went 71 yards on 10 plays, capping the drive off with a nine-yard touchdown from Jones to tight end Hunter Henry. They then went 63 yards on just six plays the following drive, with Jones finding receiver Kendrick Bourne for a 19-yard score.

Jones started off slowly, but found his groove late in the half. Overall, the third-year quarterback finished the half with 17 completions on 24 attempts for 142 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Patriots' ground game has been very quiet, with just 30 yards on nine attempts.

New England has fared much better on the other side of the ball, though. The Patriots have held the Eagles to just 98 total yards and forced three-and-outs on three separate drives. Linebacker Matthew Judon had the Patriots' biggest defensive highlight of the first half, coming up with a third-down sack in the red zone to hold the Eagles to a field goal.

For Philadelphia, quarterback Jalen Hurts has completed nine of 13 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown, plus four carries for 16 yards on the ground. Running back Kenneth Gainwell has been the Eagles' leader in the rushing game, posting 40 yards on 10 carries.

The Patriots will get the ball to start the second half as they look to cut into the deficit.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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