Comeback bid falls short as Patriots lose to Eagles, 25-20, in Week 1

FOXBORO -- Sunday was a roller coaster day at Gillette Stadium, a day that nearly ended with a Patriots comeback while Tom Brady watched from the stands. But the comeback bid came up short for New England, as the Patriots fell 25-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

There were cheers for Tom Brady, boos for the Patriots offense, more cheers for Tom Brady, and ultimately, an extremely competitive football game between New England and Philadelphia. The Patriots got down 16-0 early, only to come racing back in the second quarter to make the game interesting before coming up short in the fourth quarter.

Mac Jones shook off a rough start -- throwing a pick-six on New England's first possession -- and finished with 316 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to receiver Kendrick Bourne. The New England defense was solid against the Eagles, allowing just one touchdown and four field goals.

But it wasn't enough in the end. Penalties really hurt the Patriots, as they were flagged seven times for 50 yards. A handful of those penalties were costly, extending drives for the Eagles or negating good plays by the Patriots.

Gillette Stadium was rocking about five minutes before kickoff Sunday after Brady rang in the 2023 season atop the new lighthouse in the north end zone. But the current Patriots gave fans little to cheer about in the first quarter.

Roughly 20 minutes after Brady's return whipped the fanbase into a frenzy, the Patriots were already in a two-score hole to the defending NFC champs. Penalties hurt the defense while poor execution doomed the offense, and the boo birds were out at Gillette just 14 minutes into the new campaign.

The New England defense let the Eagles march 61 yards on 14 plays to open the game, but an uncovered Matthew Judon sacked Jalen Hurts on third-and-goal and Philly had to settle for a field goal. But a disastrous start for the New England offense followed.

Jones threw a bad pass to Kendrick Bourne on a third-and-4 that was too high for the receiver and deflected right to Darius Slay, who returned it 70 yards for a pick-six to give Philadelphia a 10-0 lead. On New England's very next offensive play, Ezekiel Elliott fumbled a short pass from Jones and the Eagles recovered at the New England 26. A few plays later -- after Kyle Dugger was hit with a hold that negated a New England sack on a Philly second-and-8 -- Hurts delivered a perfect low pass that only a sliding DeVonta Smith could catch in the end zone.

At least Eagles kicker Jake Elliott missed the extra point, so it was only a 16-0 advantage for the Eagles. But that lopsided score prompted fans to voice their dismay at Gillette Stadium, as the Patriots trailed 16-0 after the first quarter for the first time since 2013.

After starting the game with turnovers on back-to-back snaps, the New England offense went three-and-out on its next three possessions. The third time ended with Jones going to JuJu Smith-Schuster on a third-and-5 and the receiving letting the pass go through his hands, dropping a would-be first-down reception. It wasn't a particularly great pass from Jones, but it was a catch that Smith-Schuster has to make.

More boos followed as the Patriots' offense made its way off the field. But then the offense turned a corner.

After the New England D forced a third straight three-and-out, the offense started to look like they knew what they were doing. The Patriots made their first third-down conversion at the 7:56 mark in the second when Jones hit new tight end Mike Gesicki for a 9-yard hookup on a third-and-6. A few plays later, he hit Smith-Schuster for 15 yards on a third-and-10 to keep the drive going, and then found Demario Douglas for 23 yards on a deep pass to the right side.

Three plays later, Jones connected with Hunter Henry in the end zone from nine yards out for New England's first touchdown of the season, making it a 16-7 game. Jones completed seven passes to seven different players on the team's first touchdown drive of the season.

Tom Brady, sitting in Robert Kraft's box, gave the Patriots owner a high five after New England's score.

The defense forced a fourth straight three-and-out to give the ball back to the Patriots' offense with 2:33 before halftime. Jones and company made the most of that opportunity, marching 63 yards down the field on six plays, capped off with a lovely 19-yard touchdown connection between Jones and Bourne to cut the score to 16-14 at halftime.

Jones had 10 straight completions for New England in the second quarter, as the Patriots out-gained the Eagles 137-19 in the quarter. He finished 35-for-54 overall for the game.

At halftime, the Patriots honored Brady with a ceremony at midfield. Kraft announced that there would be no four-year window for Brady to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame, and the induction ceremony would take place inside Gillette Stadium next June. 

With the building still rocking from the Brady ceremony, neither team did much of anything in the third quarter. The Eagles added three points to their lead on a 56-yard field goal by Elliott, while the Patriots were knocked out of field goal range on their only scoring threat of the quarter on a holding penalty by rookie guard Atonio Mafi. 

The Eagles led 19-14 heading into the fourth quarter, and then added three more points on a 48-yard field goal by Elliott early in the final frame.

The Patriots were aggressive after Philadelphia took its 22-14 lead, going for it on a pair of fourth downs. They converted their first attempt from the Philly 36-yard line on a beautiful one-handed catch by Henry, moving the chains on fourth-and-8. A few plays later though, on a fourth-and-3 from the Philadelphia 17, the pocket collapsed and Jones threw a weak pass to Elliott as he felt pressure from Fletcher Cox. 

The Eagles added another Elliott field goal -- this one from 51 yards -- to build their lead to 25-14 with 5:33 left in the game. The Patriots answered with a quick touchdown drive though, covering 75 yards in less than two minutes. The drive ended with Jones hitting Bourne in the end zone from 11 yards out to make it a 25-20 game with 3:37 to play.

Jones ran in the two-point conversion to get the Patriots closer, but Calvin Anderson was flagged for a holding penalty. Pushed a little further back, the Patriots were unsuccessful, as Jones' pass over the middle was nearly picked off.

But the New England defense continued to lay it on the Eagles, and got the ball back for the offense. Hurts scrambled on first down and was obliterated by Jabrill Peppers, who caused the QB to cough up the ball. Marcus Jones recovered for New England, giving the Patriots another possession at the Philly 41 with 3:11 in the game.

The offense did nothing with that possession, however. Jones was sacked by Josh Sweat on second-and-5, and then couldn't connect deep downfield with Bourne on third down. The Pats were hit with a delay of game penalty on fourth down, and Jones' fourth-and-17 pass to Henry downfield went through the tight end's hands (it was short of the sticks as well), giving the ball back to the Eagles with 2:24 remaining.

But the Patriots' defense held yet again, and had the Eagles facing a fourth-and-2 with two minutes left at New England 44. With Judon applying pressure to Hurts, the QB's pass to Smith fell incomplete, with rookie Christian Gonzalez nearly picking off the pass.

So the New England offense took the field once again for one final chance with 1:57 left. Jones and Bourne picked up nine yards on first down, but the QB's second-down pass to Douglas was knocked out of the receivers hands by Avonte Maddox. Rhamondre Stevenson moved the chains on third down though, and Jones scrambled for seven yards on the next play, getting out of bounds with 1:10 to go. Jones hit Gesicki for 17 yards and a fresh set of downs on second-and-3, stopping the clock with just over a minute to play.

After Jones threw it away on first down, he was sacked by Jalen Carter on second down, forcing the Patriots to burn their final timeout with 51 seconds in the game. Jones dumped it off to Stevenson on third-and-13, but the running back was swallowed up after just two yards.

Jones hit Kayshon Boutte with a great throw along the sideline on fourth-and-11 from the Philly 20. But the rookie couldn't drag his left foot inbounds, and the comeback bid was over for the Patriots.

A late-game comeback on Tom Brady day would have been a fitting end for the Patriots, but they just didn't have enough to pull it off. New England will now look to bounce back in Week 2 when the team hosts the Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.