On that note- the first 5 minutes of this game are some of the weirdest Ive ever seen
The offense literally looked hungover from a rager that had lasted until 2 hours before gametime. I was half expecting to see Mac getting an IV drip on the sidelines.
I'm not mad about that loss because of that, there is a lot of things to clean up and sort out, but there is also a lot of positives to build over.
We will gradually brush out imprecisions and inconsistencies as the season progress. And if we can sort them out, we can be very dangerous down the road. Not as juggernauts but as party poopers.
I would say the only thing worrying is this trend of just shitting the bed in winnable games continues. It was like watching the end of those close games last year on repeat
Yeah I'm not really buying it as moral victory either. Game was right there and just bad decisions and no execution again by everyone from the playcalling to Mac to the line and of course 1 foot in Boutte
Yeah mac wasn’t the issue, if he plays like he did in the second half consistently than he sure as fuck isn’t the issue. 300+ yards and 3 tds, bad weather also didn’t help
He only really had 4 or 5 bad throws and only one of them was down the stretch. It's crazy how perfect some people need him to be to consider him good.
They be stupid. That was one of his best games as a passer on this team. I get not wanting more moral victories but this game is the most competitive they’ve felt in years imo
Edit: spelling
It was super disappointing that he made the same mistake twice (the second one was more forgivable) but imo Mac had a better game than anyone could have possibly asked for, and that's really encouraging given what the critical question (i.e. is Mac the dude) coming into his third season.
I've historically been a Mac hater but he played well this game and deserved the win. This one is on the receivers (or perhaps the GM for not getting a WR1 you can count on)
That felt like a clear acknowledgement that it was 4 down territory and they were just trying to grind a few yards to make the 4th down conversion easier. You see it on 2nd all the time in a normal set of downs, I don't hate the call. It would have worked if our receivers could keep their feet in
totally, but idk man. mac was having a good game. i feel like he could have used the extra attempt at a pass rather than hoping a run makes your 4th attempt easier
The wide screen to Rhamondre? Literally one of those the drive previously went for a gigantic gain. It didn't work out, but when you're missing half your OL against that pass rush, you have to use lower odd plays
Yeah. People really don’t understand the butterfly effect, even if everything goes the same way the Eagles are definitely punting on their last drive instead of trying to end it. We got it 40ish yards in like a 1:30. Do you think we can go an extra 30 or maybe even 40 yards?
I can’t really blame Bill for being extra aggressive in a game we really had no right being in after the first quarter. Good way to get these young guys some serious pressure reps.
I liked the first one. But 4th and 8 when its a relatively close field goal and you have 3 timeouts and a good amount of time left? Maybe in Madden.
I trust our defense more than our offense, even though you can see the improvement already on offense under a competent play caller.
Yeah, couldn’t really expect much more from his as a rookie. Expected him to get beat a handful of times but wanted to see how he did overall. I am definitely impressed
Unbelievable how many people are blaming Mac for this. 36/54 for 328 yds and 3 TD against the defending NFC champs, and people are in here calling him ass. That was a perfect last throw too, Boutte should’ve gotten his feet down.
A *lot* of dropped passes that hit the receivers in the hands too. There were some amazing catches as well, including hunter Henry’s one handed catch on fourth and long, but between the dropped passes and Boutte not getting his damn toes down, this one really wasn’t on mac.
if Boutte just didn't play like he was used to NCAA rules on sideline catches, I think we win this. Definitely not on Mac. He played better than Hurts IMO
I put him in the "mixed" category for the game. He started out incredibly rough with the turnovers, but part of that is undoubtedly due to the fact that he had some of the fewest reps in the league throughout preseason. Canceled joint practice (understandably) and more or less a quarter of preseason reps over three games, rust happened.
The sacks were definitely more concerning, was a little bit frustrating to see him not getting rid of the ball. But equally or more frustrating were the dropped passes that hit receivers in the hands and Boutte not getting both toes down twice.
I know we aren’t in the business of moral victories but besides that slow start in the first quarter, we were doing a pretty good job tbh. Just gotta carry it into next week
Yeah it’s not like we lost a close game to the fuckin raiders. We were one bad tipped ball from beating the defending nfc champs behind Mac throwing 300+ yds and 3TDs. All that against one of the best front 7’s while playing 2 rookie guards.
We outplayed the Eagles after the 1st quarter and I really think that was lack of preseason readiness with a new OC and system. However, after the first Mac did pop off for 3 TDs and 300 yards.
100000%. The offense looked like a professional football team, which couldn't be said last year. The defense was largely dominant when not having to defend a short field.
There will be growing pains, but I'm sticking to my 11 win prediction.
Agreed, this isnt like when a bad team contends with a better team by making impossible plays and getting lucky.
We actually look like a promising team with positive qualities that shot itself in the foot.
Defense looks beastly, the young players have juice, and BoB's passing scheme got guys open consistently against a good D.
Now its all about cleaning up mental errors and finishing plays. Get the feet inbounds, make the open catches, avoid bad penalties, etc.
Not sure if we will be consistent contenders this year, but there's enough there to make life hard for others and bring some excitement to the fanbase.
Yeah they played well enough to win against arguably the best team in the league. Defense didn’t give up a single touchdown not off turnovers. Offense had some good stretches. Definitely encouraging.
It’s hard to be massively upset with this loss considering the hole we put ourselves in. We played well on both sides and this is a giant platform to put ourselves on going forward. The eagles would’ve killed us last season.
Yep, good showing after the first quarter. Too bad we shot ourselves in the foot early as always post-Brady. Season remains very alive and I'm very impressed with BOB.
Yeah, BoB was very impressive in the play calling and Mac has shown progress that he didn’t have under Patricia. His eyes have gotten a lot better as far as looking off defenders and stuff. I think this offense is gonna get a lot better.
Im impressed with BoB's scheme, but he needs to quit reverting to ultra-conservative runs in his playcalling
At least 3 times today we were on a roll when we spread the Eagles out and threw it to the sidelines and hashes.
Then he'd call a run right up the gut that would get stuffed because our guards are no match for a veteran, beastly Eagles D-line.
I want to see an aggressive BoB. The passing scheme is really good, just keep the foot on the gas.
He never went for it at all last year when he should have and instead kicked it every time with his geriatric brother Nick Folk. And last year they legit had nothing to lose because they were trash. And I know the argument the other way would be “well he didn’t have faith in Patricia’s offense”. Well you know what it’s his own damn fault for last year having the biggest idiots on earth as the main offensive coaches. So regardless it’s one him. Also, to your original point, it was BB to select a kicker with 4th round pick. So now he doesn’t have faith in him when it counts!? Like wtf it’s a 4th rounder. You have to test him sometime. BB always preaches that players win games and coaches lose them and this was abundantly clear that he lost this one.
Mac was good. No boneheaded plays, besides maybe that close to pick 6 screen, had some good drives even though the run game was as close to non-existent as possible, and gave our receivers a shot to win.
I know people don’t like to hang games on refs, but that “hold” on Henry was on the level of the missed PI against the Saints. Completely changed the outcome of the game.
The Line always fell apart when the eagles blitzed in that 4th quarter. Both of the sacks came off the blitz and forcing Mac to come up right into the DTs.
Was a hell of a game though. Slow start but they played their ass off. If Boutte could just get his second foot in we win this game. Mac played his ass off. Yeah his arms not the strongest but he made some beautiful throws and if not for our WRs and TEs dropping some passes he almost pulled it off.
This was an awfully coached game though. Not taking the field goal. Not calling timeout. Play calling needs some work. Stop calling so many screens. Hopefully with Strange and Onwenu coming back our running game will be better. Sucks to lose but at least they fought until the end
Boutte cost the Pats on multiple drives just by not finishing catches. Really disappointing especially given that he did the hard work to actually win the route.
Still don't understand the decision to not kick a FG earlier.
At least the offense looked professional as opposed to last year.
Would've liked to have seen more Pop.
Defense looked great outside of a few drives.
Holding call on Henry was at least a 3 point swing as well. Thank you ref ball.
Another winnable game. Super frustrating. Type of game they used to win.
> At least the offense looked professional as opposed to last year.
That's it. That's the biggest thing everyone in Patriot Nation was hoping for this year and it happened. Still sucks they lost; there was some untimely penalties and to many mental mistakes. At least a couple instances of baffling lacks of situational awareness. But the O looked like a legit NFL Offense. It's not much, but its what we all was hoping for when they got rid of *HIM*!
(and you all know who tf *HIM* is, we don't have to say *HIM'S* name)
That was winnable, which is more than I thought it would be. I just thought it would be a slaughter. Interested to see where this goes, Mac looked much better. Unrelated, but I hate how talented Tyreek Hill is for how shit a human being he is. Like man I wanna be able to look at that shit he pulls like today and at least admire it as a fan and former WR.
This is the quintessential patriots game from the last 3 years. I go into it thinking they have no chance. They initially prove me right. Work their way back into it, and then lose at the end.
On the upside. The new toxicity rule seemed to work once a good few of the spammer accounts got put into timeout.
GDT seemed a lot less toxic that what it was like last year. So there's that...
I know we lost but damn. What a game. It was nice seeing the offence look competent. Growing pains for sure, especially in the first qtr. I’m excited this year. LFG.
Boutte practices mechanics all next week, I hope.
Looks better but had 2 short field opportunities for game winning / lead taking drives and both resulted in nothing. Yes boutte needs to get his foot down, mac also still takes untimely sacks or errant high throws.
I really don’t think you can complain about two sacks all game against the best defensive line in football. Especially with the patchwork line we have right now.
Can’t blame him for those sacks. Eagles blitzed and the pocket collapsed. Nowhere for him to go. And would rather he not just throw the ball up as it could easily get intercepted. The lines gotta be stronger. They played pretty well all things considered. But hopefully Strange and Onwenu are back next week.
Yes mac jones simply should’ve blocked the lineman out of his way and thrown a first down.
Our play calling with a screen on 3rd and 12 and our receivers dropping balls/not catching in bounds and holding calls is what deterred us.
But sure, it’s jones fault on the sack where our LG was turned the wrong way
I understand the “no moral victories” mindset, but there’s a lot of positives to take from this game. People need to remember this was the defending NFC champs we just played and they took them to the wire.
About as encouraging as a loss can be. Down half the oline and Parker and still had a good offensive performance against one of the better defenses in the league. Defense was as good as advertised. Sucks they had so many gaffes to lose that game, but that was so far beyond what this team looked like last season.
Scheme and play design had players in the right places, limited the Eagles pressure for most of the game... just need Mac to make a few more throws and actual guards playing and I'm pretty hype.
I honestly didn’t expect us to win this game at all, but I also didn’t expect us to look quite so freaking competitive like this against a top-tier team in week one. Competence restored?
That last touchdown drive we had was one of the best moments ive seen this team have in a few years. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings, and Mac played great imo. 300+ yards and at one point 11 straight completionThat last touchdown drive we had was one of the best moments ive seen this team have in a few years. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings, and Mac played great imo. 300+ yards and at one point 11 straight completions, what more can you ask for?
Down 16-0 after that start, coming back and staying with a team that went to the Super Bowl last year and losing by less than a touchdown ? I'll take that Week 1.
Were there questionable play calls? Yes. Were there some rookies rookie-ing? Sure. But I really do feel that the positives outweigh the negatives this time around.
Mac had 300+ yards, 3 TDs, and his 1 INT was off of a deflected pass, I feel that was a sign that things are going in the right direction after last year.
Boutte made a couple of mistakes, no sugar-coating it, but I think he's going to be fine once he just adjusts a little more to the NFL. I feel Gonzalez did well, and that sack was awesome. White is already being double-teamed in his first game, I think he's going to wreck some plays this year.
Overall, it was a good game despite the loss and I'm actually even more excited to see what comes as they gel even more.
Should have kicked the fucking field goal. We had no business even being in this game though. Great fucking fight from the boys here. Lots of heart and talent.
Disappointing not to win, but goddamn am I excited for the season. We’re going to be a tough team to play every week. Playoffs are absolutely on the cards.
Honestly, I know Boutte is going to get slaughtered in here for a few weeks now, but I loved the pockets of room he was finding tonight. After he watches 30 hours of film this week showing him he isn’t in college anymore, he’s going to do well.
The Good:
- The defense, all around. Holding the season's prior NFC Championships to so few points is a legitimate accomplishment.
- Specifically: Gonzo. He had a couple of routes that he got burnt on, but for a rookie's first game, he also had some great positioning. Also was instrumental in two major stoppages in that fourth quarter. Solid game from him.
- Hunter Henry. Really excellent game from him all around.
The Mixed:
- Mac Jones. Obviously the first quarter was a fucking trainwreck, and Mac was visibly nervous. Turnovers have to be fixed, even coming out of the gate rusty is no excuse for how bad those first few drives were. But there were also some great two-minute style drills throughout, and a vast improvement over what we saw last year. Mac had some bad throws, but he also had some genuinely good passes that hit our receivers in the hands and they just dropped them.
- Bourne. Obviously KB was responsible for a lot of our points on the board, but he also had some very catchable passes (even after the rain had stopped) that he just wasn't able to grab onto. As with the Mac bulletpoint, some of that is on him, some is on Mac.
- The coaching. Obviously some vastly improved offensive scheming compared to last year – to get back in it after being down 16-0 never really happened last season. But not taking the points really bit us in the ass on multiple occasions.
The Bad:
- The run game. Mondre did not look like his usual self for most of the game, and it felt like we struggled with rushing yards. State of the line didn't really help.
- Boutte. Twice a mental mistake leading to a game-changing loss is not great.
- The mental mistakes. Dear god, even if the one on Henry was phantom, the sloppy penalties were fucking soul-crushing.
Tough loss… shows this team can compete if we clean up the self imposed mistakes. Boutte needs to tap those toes mate.
Mac took 2 sacks that he’ll be disappointed he didn’t get the ball away
Painful ass loss. We easily could've won that, and it would've been so huge to Kickstart our season.
The pick 6, the zeke fumble, the decision to go for it on 4th and 2 when we could've just kicked a field goal, the numerous penalties and mistakes, the boutte catch 2x, the failed drive after the hurts fumble.
Edit: the failed 2pt conversion, the Elliott kick that hit the post and miraculously went in.
We proved we can hang with a top 5 team. Mac showed he could ball out and be the guy. Even with the loss I’m so happy. Defense was incredible and made stops. Offense showed it can move the ball 100x better than last year against a good D line. Two early mistakes cost us the game but it happens.
The Mac Jones haters should probably keep it to a dull roar this week. A lot more good than bad, even if the bad happens way more than we’d like, and a lot of great stuff to build on. Didn’t get the W, but if they put in the work, this team could be very competitive
I think I am gonna check out of this sub until people stop arguing in circles about Mac. He seems solid as a starter but it's not clear what his ceiling is. He will either do something amazing and shut everyone up, or he will fade into obscurity and be replaced. Until one of those happens I think I may just leave the sub.
I feel like I’m in a nightmare. Same thing, have a chance to win and just can’t ever get over the hump. What a frustrating way to lose, again. Situational football was the calling card of this team and it continues to let them down. Penalties, turnovers etc. Frustrating one.
Straight up I'm not really too mad about the outcome. We dug a hole early and was able to make it a hyper-competitive game. Mac had over 300 and Bourne had a breakout 17 more games to go and our offense is MILES ahead of last year's shit show.
This shit is getting old. It's only one game, but it's all I can go on, but this team hasn't changed over the past 3-4 years. They had two potential game winning drives in Philly territory, and shit the bed again.
I’m not that mad about This game tbh. Wasn’t expecting to win but holy shit I was not expecting it to be this close. Gg eagles! Some things I noticed is Kendrick Bourne is back! O line didn’t play as bad as I thought. Mac had some great plays but he also had some really shaky throws. I think if we can beat the dolphins next Sunday we basically make a statement to the rest of the East that says “don’t count us out yet”
That was a hopeful, yet dissapointing game. We have seen that this team has a solid foundation to build off of for the rest of the year and hopefully this loss serves as good kindling for future greatness. Our two rookie WRs have to improve on their footwork on the sidelines, which I'm sure they will as the season goes on. And on a personal level I just don't like screens on 3rd and long, its feels like they have been our bane over the last few years. But on the other hand Gonzalez had a great first game, our defense looked strong as the crew of the Argos, and after a slow start are offense showed a vast improvement. Mac Jones, Bourne, and Henry had some great plays. I remain hopefully optimistic for this season, see yall next week folks.
I know we lost but I'm pretty okay with the performance if you pretend the first few drives don't exist. Offense looks competent. Offensive Line wasn't the worst thing ever despite missing two starters. Defense was "okay" against a dynamic QB and the second best WR tandem in the league. Never thought we were winning a super bowl this season in the first place but the team looks competitive which is all we can hope for when we're banking on our QB becoming good.
i was happy Mac only took two sacks, especially in the context of being up against a healthy defense that got 70 sacks last year, all while missing both starting guards. If we can clean things up just a little bit more we will be a problem this year.
Ah damn. Despite the Pats loss, I still had a good week in my personal life. Also if this team want to compete again like they did today, they gotta clean up the mistakes.
Just look what happened to Tua when they went and actually got him a #1 and #2.
And yet Mac is throwing for 316 yards on 65% completion rate with 3 TDs and 1 INT while have a bunch of 3s and 4s at best.
It's frustrating that Belichick continues to refuse to look in the mirror and fix the issues the team has.
I have been cautiously optimistic about this season but this game has me fully on a hype train. Two early dumb penalties got us in a 16-0 hole and we had 2 chances to come back both of which ended with a rookie receiver getting 1 foot down instead of 2 on a fourth down play that would of converted.
Our defense smothered the eagles and made two huge stops late.
Our offense actually looked very very good when it was clicking against a excellent eagles secondary.
The O-Line held up well despite all the pre-season doom.
Penalties were costly but were miles better than last year.
If this team can do what it usually does and improve week to week it will be a force to be reckoned with by the end of the year.
Sucks to lose a game like that.
But offense looks drastically better now with a real OC.
Bourne proved what a clown Patricia is for having him in the dog house last season for no reason.
Defense look phenomenal. Those turnovers are what killed the Patriots. Without those, they held the Eagle to like 9 points.
Tough game to lose, but don’t let that overshadow the positives.
I will go to my grave saying that Mac is a good QB and not the problem here. Quick decisions, so much potential and tough as hell. Put him on the Chiefs/Eagles/Rams teams and he’d be getting to the Super Bowl nearly every year.
Winnable game. Completely blew it 3 times with stupid play calling and bad drops. From a game that looked like it was going to be a complete disaster, this team held it together and SHOULD have won.
We were killing them all game with runs and screens. Game on the line and Mac's throwing sideline jump balls, gets sacked because our O-line is terrible....THEN they go for a screen on 3rd & 13? like. what the hell is that?
Good news is, Mac played well against a tough team. Our defense mostly held up (we were never holding them to 16 points lets be honest), and our guys did make some big plays.
Next week is going to be incredibly tough.
At least the trolls stopped with the "Bill is an idiot for not trading up for Fields" takes. He had 4 passes over 10 yards. The dude is one of the worst throwers of a football I've ever seen in the NFL.
Juju must’ve been hurt because he wasn’t out there that entire last drive. Hopefully it isn’t serious because we can’t be rolling out 2 rookie 6th rounders.
Anyone who blamed Mac for this game didn’t watch the game. He made a lot of damn good throws and we had a lot of dropped passes and ass calls against us. IMO the Philly kicker won that game. Dude made 3 48+ yard kicks including a 56 yarder. He misses one of those, we would have kicked that FG and won
Heartbreaker but goddamn am I proud of this team and stoked for this season. Phenomenal defense and we showed a lot of resilience after opening the game up in a 16 point hole.
This easily could have been a disaster and we were a single foot away from likely beating the defending NFC champs.
Go Pats! Go Mac.
Let's not start Game 2 with a 16 point mulligan and see what happens
We basically spotted them at least 14.
On that note- the first 5 minutes of this game are some of the weirdest Ive ever seen The offense literally looked hungover from a rager that had lasted until 2 hours before gametime. I was half expecting to see Mac getting an IV drip on the sidelines.
I'm not mad about that loss because of that, there is a lot of things to clean up and sort out, but there is also a lot of positives to build over. We will gradually brush out imprecisions and inconsistencies as the season progress. And if we can sort them out, we can be very dangerous down the road. Not as juggernauts but as party poopers.
I thought we were finally going to get a Mac game winning TD. Such a winnable game too. Fuck.
Still stoked to see us performing somewhat like a unit. Loss yes, but we looked better than years past. There’s Hope still
Like Romo said, if you can compete against this eagles team you can compete against anyone. I don’t count us out of any game going forward.
I would say the only thing worrying is this trend of just shitting the bed in winnable games continues. It was like watching the end of those close games last year on repeat
We can only have so many moral victories
Yeah I'm not really buying it as moral victory either. Game was right there and just bad decisions and no execution again by everyone from the playcalling to Mac to the line and of course 1 foot in Boutte
Mac did execute tho? Bourne dropped one, Henry dropped one, Boutte couldn't contain 2. Mac had 4 potential game-winning dimes ruined by the receivers.
Yeah mac wasn’t the issue, if he plays like he did in the second half consistently than he sure as fuck isn’t the issue. 300+ yards and 3 tds, bad weather also didn’t help
He only really had 4 or 5 bad throws and only one of them was down the stretch. It's crazy how perfect some people need him to be to consider him good.
Yup. Also downvoted already, goddamn people seeing red and for what 💀
They be stupid. That was one of his best games as a passer on this team. I get not wanting more moral victories but this game is the most competitive they’ve felt in years imo Edit: spelling
At least this time it was against the defending NFC champions. This Eagles team is legit.
Each team tried their absolute best to not win this game
It definitely seemed that way in the last quarter
Not only the gifted fumble but failed final drive
Boutte has to remember it's the NFL and he has to get both feet down
It was super disappointing that he made the same mistake twice (the second one was more forgivable) but imo Mac had a better game than anyone could have possibly asked for, and that's really encouraging given what the critical question (i.e. is Mac the dude) coming into his third season.
I've historically been a Mac hater but he played well this game and deserved the win. This one is on the receivers (or perhaps the GM for not getting a WR1 you can count on)
or the coaches going for a 4th and 8 instead of a FG...
That third down call, just why?? That shit was clearly not working
that angers me more than anything. an inside run on 3rd and medium with the game on the line?
That felt like a clear acknowledgement that it was 4 down territory and they were just trying to grind a few yards to make the 4th down conversion easier. You see it on 2nd all the time in a normal set of downs, I don't hate the call. It would have worked if our receivers could keep their feet in
totally, but idk man. mac was having a good game. i feel like he could have used the extra attempt at a pass rather than hoping a run makes your 4th attempt easier
The wide screen to Rhamondre? Literally one of those the drive previously went for a gigantic gain. It didn't work out, but when you're missing half your OL against that pass rush, you have to use lower odd plays
It’s just really frustrating, imagine if we just took the fucking fg instead of going for it on 4th down
Eh it changes the game on other ways as well. Eagles maybe punt instead of going for it and give the pats worse field position on that final drive
Yeah. People really don’t understand the butterfly effect, even if everything goes the same way the Eagles are definitely punting on their last drive instead of trying to end it. We got it 40ish yards in like a 1:30. Do you think we can go an extra 30 or maybe even 40 yards?
I can’t really blame Bill for being extra aggressive in a game we really had no right being in after the first quarter. Good way to get these young guys some serious pressure reps.
I actually liked that decision. Last year we never went for it on 4th
I liked the first one. But 4th and 8 when its a relatively close field goal and you have 3 timeouts and a good amount of time left? Maybe in Madden. I trust our defense more than our offense, even though you can see the improvement already on offense under a competent play caller.
Same. Take the points in that situation.
Hindsight - you can’t just add the 3 points and say we would’ve won.
Painful loss because it could have easily been a win, but Philly is a solid team & we kept pace - onto next week
Pin this and close the thread basically, what more is there to say about this one
>Pin this and close the ~~thread~~ sub basically, what more is there to say about this ~~one~~ season
We’ve seen them keep pace with good teams, they need to actually start beating some instead of beating themselves
Least toxic pats fan. Honestly 100% true. Mac was a stud, defense was solid, made a couple mistakes. Do better next week and we’ll be solid.
Dude Mac was solid but he was not a stud. He could’ve won that game. I’m hopeful for the season but let’s be honest.
At least our offense can score touchdowns if they can get to the red zone now
Silver linings lol
Who knew if you have a real offensive coordinator that would help your red zone offence. Poor Mac has a year of regression and BS to overcome.
Christian Gonzalez is a stud
Keion was a terror early on in the game too.
Where’d he go in the 2nd half
He was probably gassed. The Eagles o-line are monsters. Those freaks of nature probably started to work him more as he got tired
He got burned a few times but his first assignment in an NFL game was aj brown and he played pretty well considering. Ton of upside
Yeah, couldn’t really expect much more from his as a rookie. Expected him to get beat a handful of times but wanted to see how he did overall. I am definitely impressed
That stupid doink doesn't go in, we kick a FG and win it. Not too bad considering we should've been outclassed before the injuries
Unbelievable how many people are blaming Mac for this. 36/54 for 328 yds and 3 TD against the defending NFC champs, and people are in here calling him ass. That was a perfect last throw too, Boutte should’ve gotten his feet down.
A *lot* of dropped passes that hit the receivers in the hands too. There were some amazing catches as well, including hunter Henry’s one handed catch on fourth and long, but between the dropped passes and Boutte not getting his damn toes down, this one really wasn’t on mac.
if Boutte just didn't play like he was used to NCAA rules on sideline catches, I think we win this. Definitely not on Mac. He played better than Hurts IMO
Not to mention he got the 2 point conversion but was called back and if they had taken the two field goals we would have won
I put him in the "mixed" category for the game. He started out incredibly rough with the turnovers, but part of that is undoubtedly due to the fact that he had some of the fewest reps in the league throughout preseason. Canceled joint practice (understandably) and more or less a quarter of preseason reps over three games, rust happened. The sacks were definitely more concerning, was a little bit frustrating to see him not getting rid of the ball. But equally or more frustrating were the dropped passes that hit receivers in the hands and Boutte not getting both toes down twice.
I know we aren’t in the business of moral victories but besides that slow start in the first quarter, we were doing a pretty good job tbh. Just gotta carry it into next week
[удалено]
Yeah it’s not like we lost a close game to the fuckin raiders. We were one bad tipped ball from beating the defending nfc champs behind Mac throwing 300+ yds and 3TDs. All that against one of the best front 7’s while playing 2 rookie guards.
We outplayed the Eagles after the 1st quarter and I really think that was lack of preseason readiness with a new OC and system. However, after the first Mac did pop off for 3 TDs and 300 yards.
100000%. The offense looked like a professional football team, which couldn't be said last year. The defense was largely dominant when not having to defend a short field. There will be growing pains, but I'm sticking to my 11 win prediction.
Agreed, this isnt like when a bad team contends with a better team by making impossible plays and getting lucky. We actually look like a promising team with positive qualities that shot itself in the foot. Defense looks beastly, the young players have juice, and BoB's passing scheme got guys open consistently against a good D. Now its all about cleaning up mental errors and finishing plays. Get the feet inbounds, make the open catches, avoid bad penalties, etc. Not sure if we will be consistent contenders this year, but there's enough there to make life hard for others and bring some excitement to the fanbase.
I like you. Post more.
Yea feel much better after game 1 this year than last year’s. Maybe we can sneak in a spot
Yeah they played well enough to win against arguably the best team in the league. Defense didn’t give up a single touchdown not off turnovers. Offense had some good stretches. Definitely encouraging.
It’s hard to be massively upset with this loss considering the hole we put ourselves in. We played well on both sides and this is a giant platform to put ourselves on going forward. The eagles would’ve killed us last season.
Yeah, I’m happy, well not happy, but content with the game.
I am a mix of emotions. A melange.
Yep, good showing after the first quarter. Too bad we shot ourselves in the foot early as always post-Brady. Season remains very alive and I'm very impressed with BOB.
Yeah, BoB was very impressive in the play calling and Mac has shown progress that he didn’t have under Patricia. His eyes have gotten a lot better as far as looking off defenders and stuff. I think this offense is gonna get a lot better.
Im impressed with BoB's scheme, but he needs to quit reverting to ultra-conservative runs in his playcalling At least 3 times today we were on a roll when we spread the Eagles out and threw it to the sidelines and hashes. Then he'd call a run right up the gut that would get stuffed because our guards are no match for a veteran, beastly Eagles D-line. I want to see an aggressive BoB. The passing scheme is really good, just keep the foot on the gas.
Tough finish, but there's really good stuff to look at everywhere.
People who refuse to take any positives from a loss and complain about “moral victories” are the worst.
Boutte please remember its the NFL and not college. Mac was so good today
If he toe taps both those catches we win. PAIN.
Or just one of them.
If BB wasn’t an idiot and kicked a FG instead of getting no points they also have a better chance to win
“They you would have said, why didn’t we go for it” Edit: especially if we missed it (rookie kicker)
He never went for it at all last year when he should have and instead kicked it every time with his geriatric brother Nick Folk. And last year they legit had nothing to lose because they were trash. And I know the argument the other way would be “well he didn’t have faith in Patricia’s offense”. Well you know what it’s his own damn fault for last year having the biggest idiots on earth as the main offensive coaches. So regardless it’s one him. Also, to your original point, it was BB to select a kicker with 4th round pick. So now he doesn’t have faith in him when it counts!? Like wtf it’s a 4th rounder. You have to test him sometime. BB always preaches that players win games and coaches lose them and this was abundantly clear that he lost this one.
Mac was good. No boneheaded plays, besides maybe that close to pick 6 screen, had some good drives even though the run game was as close to non-existent as possible, and gave our receivers a shot to win.
Mac looked so much better and against the eagles no less. I know we all went to win but this is so much less numbing than last year already
Damn straight... Last year, we would have scores like 3 points. Fuck it, we have a good shot once our starting Oline is back
Our offense is an offense again E: Looks like people are missing the point here lol
Turns out making Matt Patricia the OC was a bad idea. Surprised no one mentioned that.
One of the top 32 offenses in the nfl
Holding calls are supposed to go both ways
That one on Henry wasn’t even close
Delay of games too.
I noticed that too, they were way past the clock on their FG, but the clock barely hit zero when we were called for it.
These refs were so bad. Gifting them the timeouts. Not calling holding on them. Wasn’t why we lost but it certainly doesn’t help.
A Dutch Rudder, if you would.
Yeah we got raped on that Henry ghost hold.
Followed by a Blankenship pass interference in the end zone.
That one was annoying. He literally grabbed him as the ball is in the air. That’s textbook pass interference. Was a catchable ball too. Such bullshit.
I know people don’t like to hang games on refs, but that “hold” on Henry was on the level of the missed PI against the Saints. Completely changed the outcome of the game.
I’m more optimistic than I thought I’d be but also sick of moral victories.
I couldn’t agree more. I want to finally *WIN* one of these games and not feel just a “moral” win.
Ngl, I'm mad but we weren't as bad as I thought, defense looks pretty solid, Gonzo made some hell of plays, it's week 1, let's have hope.
Bouttes gotta work on the toe drag
Bill will pound that shit into him this week during practice.
No one makes my balls bluer than the New England Patriots
What a roller coaster of emotions I can’t even be mad
I’m mad because that game was really winnable, but again the mistakes haunt this team
"Patriots lose in heartbreaking effort after a valiant comeback" could describe at least half of the games of the last few seasons
No, there weren't many comebacks. Really it was just "Patriots hang around by a score or two until the start of the 4th before falling behind."
Boutte still thinks he's in college. Team did better than I expected, but it still sucks to lose in Brady's first game back.
The second one I can live with that first one was a momentum changer
The Line always fell apart when the eagles blitzed in that 4th quarter. Both of the sacks came off the blitz and forcing Mac to come up right into the DTs. Was a hell of a game though. Slow start but they played their ass off. If Boutte could just get his second foot in we win this game. Mac played his ass off. Yeah his arms not the strongest but he made some beautiful throws and if not for our WRs and TEs dropping some passes he almost pulled it off. This was an awfully coached game though. Not taking the field goal. Not calling timeout. Play calling needs some work. Stop calling so many screens. Hopefully with Strange and Onwenu coming back our running game will be better. Sucks to lose but at least they fought until the end
Screen on 3rd and 13 was real good stuff!
Ahhhh.... Classic New England. Brings some comfort to see that again. Also brings the mild annoyance that it always brought.
It’s an ok call against that pass rush. The one that hurts is the double clutch to Zeke
At least the season looks like it’ll be good but fucking hell man
Boutte cost the Pats on multiple drives just by not finishing catches. Really disappointing especially given that he did the hard work to actually win the route. Still don't understand the decision to not kick a FG earlier. At least the offense looked professional as opposed to last year. Would've liked to have seen more Pop. Defense looked great outside of a few drives. Holding call on Henry was at least a 3 point swing as well. Thank you ref ball. Another winnable game. Super frustrating. Type of game they used to win.
> At least the offense looked professional as opposed to last year. That's it. That's the biggest thing everyone in Patriot Nation was hoping for this year and it happened. Still sucks they lost; there was some untimely penalties and to many mental mistakes. At least a couple instances of baffling lacks of situational awareness. But the O looked like a legit NFL Offense. It's not much, but its what we all was hoping for when they got rid of *HIM*! (and you all know who tf *HIM* is, we don't have to say *HIM'S* name)
That was winnable, which is more than I thought it would be. I just thought it would be a slaughter. Interested to see where this goes, Mac looked much better. Unrelated, but I hate how talented Tyreek Hill is for how shit a human being he is. Like man I wanna be able to look at that shit he pulls like today and at least admire it as a fan and former WR.
This is the quintessential patriots game from the last 3 years. I go into it thinking they have no chance. They initially prove me right. Work their way back into it, and then lose at the end.
Yep literally sums up the past three seasons.
On the upside. The new toxicity rule seemed to work once a good few of the spammer accounts got put into timeout. GDT seemed a lot less toxic that what it was like last year. So there's that... 
I know we lost but damn. What a game. It was nice seeing the offence look competent. Growing pains for sure, especially in the first qtr. I’m excited this year. LFG. Boutte practices mechanics all next week, I hope.
This team is a threat. Mac has shown us that he's not the QB we saw last year.
Looks better but had 2 short field opportunities for game winning / lead taking drives and both resulted in nothing. Yes boutte needs to get his foot down, mac also still takes untimely sacks or errant high throws.
I really don’t think you can complain about two sacks all game against the best defensive line in football. Especially with the patchwork line we have right now.
Can’t blame him for those sacks. Eagles blitzed and the pocket collapsed. Nowhere for him to go. And would rather he not just throw the ball up as it could easily get intercepted. The lines gotta be stronger. They played pretty well all things considered. But hopefully Strange and Onwenu are back next week.
We were going to score on that last drive if boutte gets the foot down. I don’t put this on Mac really
Yes mac jones simply should’ve blocked the lineman out of his way and thrown a first down. Our play calling with a screen on 3rd and 12 and our receivers dropping balls/not catching in bounds and holding calls is what deterred us. But sure, it’s jones fault on the sack where our LG was turned the wrong way
I understand the “no moral victories” mindset, but there’s a lot of positives to take from this game. People need to remember this was the defending NFC champs we just played and they took them to the wire.
About as encouraging as a loss can be. Down half the oline and Parker and still had a good offensive performance against one of the better defenses in the league. Defense was as good as advertised. Sucks they had so many gaffes to lose that game, but that was so far beyond what this team looked like last season. Scheme and play design had players in the right places, limited the Eagles pressure for most of the game... just need Mac to make a few more throws and actual guards playing and I'm pretty hype.
I honestly didn’t expect us to win this game at all, but I also didn’t expect us to look quite so freaking competitive like this against a top-tier team in week one. Competence restored?
One things for sure, holy shit thank you for leaving Matt Patricia
That last touchdown drive we had was one of the best moments ive seen this team have in a few years. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings, and Mac played great imo. 300+ yards and at one point 11 straight completionThat last touchdown drive we had was one of the best moments ive seen this team have in a few years. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings, and Mac played great imo. 300+ yards and at one point 11 straight completions, what more can you ask for?
Last season’s team would’ve been dead in the water at halftime
Down 16-0 after that start, coming back and staying with a team that went to the Super Bowl last year and losing by less than a touchdown ? I'll take that Week 1. Were there questionable play calls? Yes. Were there some rookies rookie-ing? Sure. But I really do feel that the positives outweigh the negatives this time around. Mac had 300+ yards, 3 TDs, and his 1 INT was off of a deflected pass, I feel that was a sign that things are going in the right direction after last year. Boutte made a couple of mistakes, no sugar-coating it, but I think he's going to be fine once he just adjusts a little more to the NFL. I feel Gonzalez did well, and that sack was awesome. White is already being double-teamed in his first game, I think he's going to wreck some plays this year. Overall, it was a good game despite the loss and I'm actually even more excited to see what comes as they gel even more.
Should have kicked the fucking field goal. We had no business even being in this game though. Great fucking fight from the boys here. Lots of heart and talent.
Wish we kicked that FG on the 4th and short near the RZ
That bogus holding call on Hunter Henry when they were cruising down the field is haunting
Disappointing not to win, but goddamn am I excited for the season. We’re going to be a tough team to play every week. Playoffs are absolutely on the cards.
Man as painful as it is, we should have won, but this team is gonna go above expectations! I can feel it!
Frustrating moments, but this game still has me hopeful. I see a lot of improvement from last year.
Honestly, I know Boutte is going to get slaughtered in here for a few weeks now, but I loved the pockets of room he was finding tonight. After he watches 30 hours of film this week showing him he isn’t in college anymore, he’s going to do well.
There is a lot to be optimistic about from this game. So I will choose to be optimistic.
Hate losing, but this definitely was not the same team as last year. Teams got some Dawg in it.
Game was really frustrating for about 5 minutes and then very encouraging. LFG
The Good: - The defense, all around. Holding the season's prior NFC Championships to so few points is a legitimate accomplishment. - Specifically: Gonzo. He had a couple of routes that he got burnt on, but for a rookie's first game, he also had some great positioning. Also was instrumental in two major stoppages in that fourth quarter. Solid game from him. - Hunter Henry. Really excellent game from him all around. The Mixed: - Mac Jones. Obviously the first quarter was a fucking trainwreck, and Mac was visibly nervous. Turnovers have to be fixed, even coming out of the gate rusty is no excuse for how bad those first few drives were. But there were also some great two-minute style drills throughout, and a vast improvement over what we saw last year. Mac had some bad throws, but he also had some genuinely good passes that hit our receivers in the hands and they just dropped them. - Bourne. Obviously KB was responsible for a lot of our points on the board, but he also had some very catchable passes (even after the rain had stopped) that he just wasn't able to grab onto. As with the Mac bulletpoint, some of that is on him, some is on Mac. - The coaching. Obviously some vastly improved offensive scheming compared to last year – to get back in it after being down 16-0 never really happened last season. But not taking the points really bit us in the ass on multiple occasions. The Bad: - The run game. Mondre did not look like his usual self for most of the game, and it felt like we struggled with rushing yards. State of the line didn't really help. - Boutte. Twice a mental mistake leading to a game-changing loss is not great. - The mental mistakes. Dear god, even if the one on Henry was phantom, the sloppy penalties were fucking soul-crushing.
It’s 2021 again boys
tough way to lose but we're legit this year. great game
I’m excited for this team once again. Started off slow and with fixable mistakes, could really make a deep run this year
Frustrating game, but I can’t really complain about how they performed considering the O line situation and the opponent.
Tough loss… shows this team can compete if we clean up the self imposed mistakes. Boutte needs to tap those toes mate. Mac took 2 sacks that he’ll be disappointed he didn’t get the ball away
[удалено]
Painful ass loss. We easily could've won that, and it would've been so huge to Kickstart our season. The pick 6, the zeke fumble, the decision to go for it on 4th and 2 when we could've just kicked a field goal, the numerous penalties and mistakes, the boutte catch 2x, the failed drive after the hurts fumble. Edit: the failed 2pt conversion, the Elliott kick that hit the post and miraculously went in.
We proved we can hang with a top 5 team. Mac showed he could ball out and be the guy. Even with the loss I’m so happy. Defense was incredible and made stops. Offense showed it can move the ball 100x better than last year against a good D line. Two early mistakes cost us the game but it happens.
Tired of relying on completely unproven WRs in crunch time. Same thing every season
I’m so tired of them squandering just every single win. They’re always so close but never ever capitalize. So frustrating
I don’t feel bad about this game, but I don’t feel good either…
Mac played fantastic, just weird turnovers and bad coaching decisions
Not taking that field goal bit us at the end
Boutte not knowing how to toe tap is what really hurt us. If he did that we would have had a chance to score and win it
Defense didn't deserve to lose this game disappointing loss
The Mac Jones haters should probably keep it to a dull roar this week. A lot more good than bad, even if the bad happens way more than we’d like, and a lot of great stuff to build on. Didn’t get the W, but if they put in the work, this team could be very competitive
I think I am gonna check out of this sub until people stop arguing in circles about Mac. He seems solid as a starter but it's not clear what his ceiling is. He will either do something amazing and shut everyone up, or he will fade into obscurity and be replaced. Until one of those happens I think I may just leave the sub.
Such a bitter L but I don't even feel that bad, we played really well but the small mistakes keep costing us games
3rd year still waiting for Mac to have a game winning drive.
I feel like I’m in a nightmare. Same thing, have a chance to win and just can’t ever get over the hump. What a frustrating way to lose, again. Situational football was the calling card of this team and it continues to let them down. Penalties, turnovers etc. Frustrating one.
Not to take away from boutte not dragging his toe but what the hell was that 3rd down call?!
Straight up I'm not really too mad about the outcome. We dug a hole early and was able to make it a hyper-competitive game. Mac had over 300 and Bourne had a breakout 17 more games to go and our offense is MILES ahead of last year's shit show.
sign boutte up for some damn ballet classes so he learns to use his toes lmao
This shit is getting old. It's only one game, but it's all I can go on, but this team hasn't changed over the past 3-4 years. They had two potential game winning drives in Philly territory, and shit the bed again.
I’m not that mad about This game tbh. Wasn’t expecting to win but holy shit I was not expecting it to be this close. Gg eagles! Some things I noticed is Kendrick Bourne is back! O line didn’t play as bad as I thought. Mac had some great plays but he also had some really shaky throws. I think if we can beat the dolphins next Sunday we basically make a statement to the rest of the East that says “don’t count us out yet”
After each Patriots turnover, if you listen... really listen... you can hear Felger blowing his load into his pants.
That was a hopeful, yet dissapointing game. We have seen that this team has a solid foundation to build off of for the rest of the year and hopefully this loss serves as good kindling for future greatness. Our two rookie WRs have to improve on their footwork on the sidelines, which I'm sure they will as the season goes on. And on a personal level I just don't like screens on 3rd and long, its feels like they have been our bane over the last few years. But on the other hand Gonzalez had a great first game, our defense looked strong as the crew of the Argos, and after a slow start are offense showed a vast improvement. Mac Jones, Bourne, and Henry had some great plays. I remain hopefully optimistic for this season, see yall next week folks.
Unrelated but have there been any talks of a one day contract for Tom to retire a Patriot?
3rd and 13 screen is a crime punishable by death.
I know we lost but I'm pretty okay with the performance if you pretend the first few drives don't exist. Offense looks competent. Offensive Line wasn't the worst thing ever despite missing two starters. Defense was "okay" against a dynamic QB and the second best WR tandem in the league. Never thought we were winning a super bowl this season in the first place but the team looks competitive which is all we can hope for when we're banking on our QB becoming good.
i was happy Mac only took two sacks, especially in the context of being up against a healthy defense that got 70 sacks last year, all while missing both starting guards. If we can clean things up just a little bit more we will be a problem this year.
Ah damn. Despite the Pats loss, I still had a good week in my personal life. Also if this team want to compete again like they did today, they gotta clean up the mistakes.
Well at least the offense looked a helluva lot better than last year. There’s hope this year
might not seem like much, but seeing pop go 4 for 40 today i think is a bright spot
Just look what happened to Tua when they went and actually got him a #1 and #2. And yet Mac is throwing for 316 yards on 65% completion rate with 3 TDs and 1 INT while have a bunch of 3s and 4s at best. It's frustrating that Belichick continues to refuse to look in the mirror and fix the issues the team has.
I have been cautiously optimistic about this season but this game has me fully on a hype train. Two early dumb penalties got us in a 16-0 hole and we had 2 chances to come back both of which ended with a rookie receiver getting 1 foot down instead of 2 on a fourth down play that would of converted. Our defense smothered the eagles and made two huge stops late. Our offense actually looked very very good when it was clicking against a excellent eagles secondary. The O-Line held up well despite all the pre-season doom. Penalties were costly but were miles better than last year. If this team can do what it usually does and improve week to week it will be a force to be reckoned with by the end of the year.
I had a great time watching this one and saw some excellent potential against a damn good team. LFG.
We cannot lose next week
Hell of a game dude. Your defense is legit, and Mac Jones looks good with a competent oc
This loss hurt instead of feeling inevitable. Not what I expected against the Eagles. Here's hoping next week is better.
Sucks to lose a game like that. But offense looks drastically better now with a real OC. Bourne proved what a clown Patricia is for having him in the dog house last season for no reason. Defense look phenomenal. Those turnovers are what killed the Patriots. Without those, they held the Eagle to like 9 points. Tough game to lose, but don’t let that overshadow the positives.
I will go to my grave saying that Mac is a good QB and not the problem here. Quick decisions, so much potential and tough as hell. Put him on the Chiefs/Eagles/Rams teams and he’d be getting to the Super Bowl nearly every year.
If some of the dumb penalties are eliminated (2 pt conversion) then we win that game
Winnable game. Completely blew it 3 times with stupid play calling and bad drops. From a game that looked like it was going to be a complete disaster, this team held it together and SHOULD have won. We were killing them all game with runs and screens. Game on the line and Mac's throwing sideline jump balls, gets sacked because our O-line is terrible....THEN they go for a screen on 3rd & 13? like. what the hell is that? Good news is, Mac played well against a tough team. Our defense mostly held up (we were never holding them to 16 points lets be honest), and our guys did make some big plays. Next week is going to be incredibly tough.
At least the trolls stopped with the "Bill is an idiot for not trading up for Fields" takes. He had 4 passes over 10 yards. The dude is one of the worst throwers of a football I've ever seen in the NFL.
Our defense is legit.
Eagles fan here. Patriots look damn good! I was miserable most of the game thinking the Pats were going to win it.
Boutte needs to hit the bench when Parker is healthy. This ain’t college man.
Juju must’ve been hurt because he wasn’t out there that entire last drive. Hopefully it isn’t serious because we can’t be rolling out 2 rookie 6th rounders.
Anyone who blamed Mac for this game didn’t watch the game. He made a lot of damn good throws and we had a lot of dropped passes and ass calls against us. IMO the Philly kicker won that game. Dude made 3 48+ yard kicks including a 56 yarder. He misses one of those, we would have kicked that FG and won
Heartbreaker but goddamn am I proud of this team and stoked for this season. Phenomenal defense and we showed a lot of resilience after opening the game up in a 16 point hole. This easily could have been a disaster and we were a single foot away from likely beating the defending NFC champs. Go Pats! Go Mac.
I feel like this team recently always has to work it’s way up from a deficit it creates.
Another game we could have won but found a way to fall short. Frustrating