This preseason tilt will be all about the quarterbacks, but the Eagles and Pats will be approaching the game from completely opposite perspectives. Neither marquee quarterback played much during their respective openers, so all eyes will be on whether QBs Jaylen Hurts and Drake Maye get extended exposure.
The rest of what happens will be mostly about roster and positional competition, but New England will have one eye on actually winning the game after last year’s 4-13 disaster. The Patriots beat Carolina handily by a 17-3 count in their opener, and new coach Jerod Mayo would doubtless love to get another win to help establish a winning culture.
For Philly, this is another chemistry game in the wake of an ESPN piece detailing the dysfunction between coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jaylen Hurts. We won’t be able to tell much about that from the game itself, but it would be nice if the Eagles could reestablish their offense as the explosive outfit that rolled through the league until the second half of last year.
Game Details
Fixture: Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots
Date and Time: August 15th, 2024 @ 7:00 pm EST
Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Philadelphia Eagles Team Review
Philadelphia is 1-0 for the preseason after completing a 16-13 win against the Baltimore Ravens in their opener. The game was noteworthy mostly because of the lackluster quarterbacks who played, and Steeler castoff Kenny Pickett once again mostly disappointed in his Eagles debut when he threw for just 89 yards in 22 attempts for a paltry 4.0 average.
Whether Pickett can redeem himself in Foxboro is largely academic. The heart of the matter is Hurts. If he plays a couple of series or a quarter and excels, the City of Brotherly Love will doubtless exhale a little, and the fan greetings will be a little less, um, vociferous when the Birds return home. Philadelphia’s roster is largely that of an established winner, so the focus will be on whether Hurts can get the passing game going and maybe show out on an explosive run or two.
New England Patriots Team Review
In Foxboro, Drake Maye will be the man to watch initially. Maye pulled a no-show in the Pats opener, with the caveat that it wasn’t anywhere close to being his fault. New England chose to go with all four quarterbacks, with last year’s backup, Bailey Zappe, taking most of the dreary snaps.
This week, they’ll be hungry to see Maye, and they’ll be out for blood if they don’t. Mayo and OC Alex Van Pelt say they have a plan to develop Maye, but slow crawling his snap count seems counterproductive in the preseason given that he was drafted to be the man.
We’ll also be keeping an eye on Joe Milton. The QB, whose nickname is Bazooka Joe, played a strong game against Carolina, and given the reports that he’s already made the roster, it would be puzzling to see him get fewer snaps than Zappe this time around. Placeholder starter Jacoby Brissett will doubtless start and maybe go a quarter or so, but after that it’s time to get a glimpse of the future.
Who to Watch
Philadelphia Eagles
So, who are the guys to watch other than the QBs? Saquon Barkley’s always a solid choice to be a riveting watch, and AJ Brown has had some murky tweets and social media posts regarding Hurts’ mysterious situation. They’re both a big part of the offensive show, so if they get any playing time, watch to see if they can knock the rust off.
New England Patriots
The name to watch here is Matthew Judon. His controversial hold-in made headlines before the opener, so it will be interesting to see if he remains a happy camper if his current 6.5M contract stands. Will he be traded for a draft pick if he’s not back in the fold?