The New England Patriots defense spent a week making a statement, and the Eagles were the ones who had to sit through it. Across two joint practices at Gillette Stadium and Saturday night’s 24-21 preseason win over Philadelphia, the unit looked like it wants to be the backbone of this team.
The practice field is where the defense did its loudest talking. Per Paul Perillo’s Blogservations, the two sessions with the Eagles turned into a turnover clinic — and they came against a real offense, not a bunch of backups.
The secondary took over
Kevin Byard III challenged his group to be great, and they answered. New England picked off five passes across the joint practices, three of them off Jalen Hurts himself. That is ball-hawking against a top-tier quarterback, and it happened without the Patriots’ best cornerback — Christian Gonzalez sat the sessions out, which only makes the takeaway haul more impressive.
Second-year safety Craig Woodson led the way with a pair of interceptions and a sack, the kind of week that has him trending toward a real Year 2 jump alongside Byard. Nickel corner Marcus Jones added two picks of his own on the second day. Byard, for his part, said he thinks the NFL is “in good hands” with the next generation of star quarterbacks — even as his defenders spent two days making life miserable for one of them.
Maye and the offense held their own
Drake Maye gave the staff plenty to like, too. He was sharp across both practices, showing the arm strength and poise the fan base has been waiting to see, and the offense moved the ball against a formidable Eagles front. There was a subplot worth noting on that side of the ball: receiver A.J. Brown, now a Patriot, faced his old team for the first time and made his presence felt before professing his “love” for Hurts and the Eagles afterward.
Vrabel’s culture is taking hold
Mike Vrabel’s fingerprints are all over how this team is being built. The head coach singled out rookie kicker Andy Borregales for the way he bounced back after a rough preseason opener, and Borregales responded by drilling kicks from 50-plus yards in practice. Rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas, meanwhile, is soaking up the tough love. He said he’s “ready to go” after a late start to camp, and praised the standard being set: “That style of coaching, you don’t get everywhere else.” This is a team fixing mistakes on the spot instead of letting them slide until September.
The payoff on Saturday
All of that carried over to the game. The Patriots hosted the Eagles on Saturday night and pulled out a 24-21 win on a fourth-quarter game-winning drive, outgaining Philadelphia 378 yards to 302. It was tight rather than a runaway, but for a team in the middle of a rebuild, a week of dominating an elite opponent in practice and then closing out the game is exactly the kind of momentum Vrabel is looking for. The Patriots aren’t just surviving this rebuild. They’re starting to look like a problem.
