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Patriots Live Player Grades, Reactions and Analysis From Preseason Week 2 vs. Eagles
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- Patriots Live Player Grades, Reactions and Analysis From Preseason Week 2 vs. Eagles
Patriots Live Player Grades, Reactions and Analysis From Preseason Week 2 vs. Eagles originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The New England Patriots are back under the lights for their second test of the preseason, this time facing the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. The Eagles lost their opener last Saturday to the Baltimore Ravens 24-7. The Patriots, of course, played to a 13-13 tie against the Indianapolis Colts .
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New England is at Cleveland on Thursday to wrap up preseason action, while the Eagles welcome a visit from the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday to finish their exhibition slate.
While the final score will be secondary, Saturday night's matchup offers another important opportunity for Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff to evaluate a roster filled with intriguing position battles.
The Patriots have several questions to answer along the offensive line, in the secondary and throughout the back end of the roster. For players fighting to survive the final cut, every snap could matter. As always with preseason games, it will be interesting to see who is on the field, and who does not enter tonight's game for both Coach Vrabel and Sirianni.
MORE: How to Watch Patriots vs. Eagles Tonight: Channel, Live Stream & Start Time for Preseason Game
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Follow along below for live updates, player grades and more as the Patriots host the Eagles in Week 2 of the NFL preseason. The kickoff is expected for 7 pm ET on NFL Network.
5:41 pm ET: We should avoid the rain. It is not all that hot. Clouds in the sky and temperatures just under 70 degrees. Nice to be able to stay dry tonight.
7:00 pm ET: We are set to get underway at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots and Eagles, preseason Week 2!
7:0 5pm ET: The Patriots captains for this game include linebacker K.J. Britt , tight end Jack Westover , Offensive tackle Marcus Bryant , Wide Receiver Efton Chism III , Defensive Tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr .
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7:07 pm ET: The Eagles are kicking to the Patriots, and we are underway. We have an injury right away on the kick return. There is an Eagles player down on the field
7:14 pm ET: We are back underway. It's Tommy DeVito under center for the Patriots. A penalty and a poor pass by DeVito start the offense for New England. A short pass to fullback Lan Larison goes for 28 yards and a first down. Right tackle Marcus Bryant is down on the field, and trainers are attending to him. The former Missouri Tiger OT will give way to Dametriois Crownover. Not a great start with injuries.
7:22 pm ET: New England forced to punt after another penalty. The punt was muffed, but the Eagles recovered.
7:25pm ET: Kind of fun to see Andy Dalton for the Eagles under center. The Patriots force the Eagles to punt and will start their second drive.
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7:32pm ET: The Patriots moved the ball a little, but got behind the sticks and could not convert. They will punt back to Philadelphia.
7:43pm ET: The Eagles second drive has been surgical. Dalton is just 3 of 7 passing for 44 yards, but Will Shipley has gotten nine carries for 51 yards. Darius Cooper has caught all three passes. The Eagles have first and goal to start the second quarter. It's 0-0.
7:47pm ET: The Eagles punch it in with Will Shipley getting in. Not much resistance from the New England defensive line. It's 7-0 Patriots.
7:52pm ET: We got our first virutal measurement on the Patriots third drive. It's a first down for New England. 12:40 to go in the first half, and it's 7-0 Eagles.
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7:55pm ET: Andy Borregales makes a 41 yard field goal. Nice for the kicker to see one go through. It's 7-3 Eagles.
8:01pm ET: Gabe Jacas gets a roughing the passing penalty to start the Eagles drive. It was way late. He's got to make sure he backs off that one. Patriots thought they had a turnover on the play as well. Some good defense gets the Patriots off the field. They will start their fourth offensive drive, with 10:34 left in the first half.
8:11pm ET: Some pretty good plays on the offensive side, but a penalty pushed them back, and they could not get back on track. A scak ended the drive.
8:18pm ET: Another Eagles punt. The Patriots defensive line has picked it up and creating some pressure that Philadelphia is struggling to handle
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8:21pm ET: A 69-yard touchdown to Kyle Williams !. The ball from DeVito was pretty, and he was open. Great offensive play, which was set up from the catch by Chism. It's 10-7 Patriots.
8:31pm ET: A quick, and easy drive by the Eagles ends with a Britain Covey touchdown. It's 14-10 Eagles.
8:40pm ET: The Patriots took a quick three and out. A DeVito sack did not help the cause. Philadelphia used timeouts to get the ball back. With the ball back, the Eagles saw Amari Gainer , the linebacker from North Carolina take down the quarterback to end the half. To the locker room and it's 14-10 Eagles.
9:04pm ET: The second half s underway. The Eagles go nine plays, and get 61 yards, but the Patriots defense gets off the field. New England gets the ball and Behren Morton is in the game under center. He completes his first three passes of the half, before taking a sack, as the defender went right around Crownover.
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9:19pm ET: Another Patriots stop, and they get the ball back. A fourth and 1 play at midfield is converted by Larison. A couple nice runs and a nice throw from Morton puts the Patriots inside the 15 after a Jam Miller 20 yard run. We head to the fourth, its 14-10 Eagles.
9:24pm ET: A third down run by Larison picked up the first down. He then was able to punch it in from 2 yards out. Patriots take a 17-14 lead. There is 13:33 to go in the game.
9:30pm ET: Patriots defense continues to do a nice job and gets off the field. The Eagles had nothing doing on offense. New England will get the ball back and a chance to go up two scores with a touchdown.
9:38pm ET: The Patriots are moving the ball, but a JaMycal Hasty fumble ends the drive. The 29-year-old from Baylor just had it punched out of his hands as he was heading towards out of bounds.
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9:49pm ET: A great drive by the Eagles ends with a Tanner McKee pass to Carson Steele for the touchdown. Eagles take a 21-17 lead.
9:52pm ET: This is Behren Morton's game. 3:27 to go and down 21-17. Let's see how he fares.
9:54pm ET: Big time catch and run by Larison. Fought like crazy for the extra yards, which got him to the first down marker. The next play was tipped in the air, and should have been picked by the Eagles, and probably ball game, but he could not hold on. We have reached the 2:00 warning!
10:00pm ET: After a big incomplete pass where Tejhaun Palmer did not see a deep ball, Morton hits Dorner for a gain, but he was ruled short. A fourth down completion went to Kyle Dixon and the drive continues.
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10:05pm ET: TOUCHDOWN! Morton to DeGennaro! 38-yard strike and the Patriots take a 24-21 lead!
10:10pm ET: The Eagles are using Cole Payton under center. The former North Dakota State star is 23 years old and was a fifth-round pick in the draft. He has some pressure, and a loud crowd at Gillette Stadium.
10:12pm ET: SACK! STRIP FUMBLE! PATRIOTS ARE GOING TO WIN THIS GAME. Quintayvious Hutchins forces the fumble, and Casey Rogers picks it up. Patriots win 24-21.
Thanks for tuning into our Patriots preseason Week 2 live blog. Thursday will be here soon, and that will mark the end of the preseason.
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Enjoy the player grades from some select players.
Patriots Live Player Grades
Jason Hudson: F
A hold on the first play is not the way the Patriots are going to want to start the game or the season. Another hold came on third and 8 later in the drive and the Patriots were forced to punt.
Lan Larison: A
Speedy fullback that seems to be a little shifty. Good to see him break a long gain to keep the drive alive. Also made a great second effort later in the game to keep a drive alive. Scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sits at 7 carries, 29 yards and a score. Also has two receptions for 34 yards.
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Marcus Bryant: N/A
Unfortunately, he left the game early in the first quarter with an ankle injury and will not return.
Tommy DeVito: B+
A couple errant throws, but a nice run to keep the drive alive. His second-quarter run was really good. A massive run for 36 yards for the signal-caller. He then had a great drive late in the second. It was a nice performance for the backup. He feels more comfortable this week than he did in preseason Week 1. He finished 8 of 15 for a touchdown in the game
Patriots Defensive Line: C+
Not a lot of resistance. Especially on the run early in the game. Going to have to get better there. Looked better later in the game and started to create some pressure. The Eagles finished with 299 yards, which is not a ton, but the resistance.
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Andy Borregales: A
So far, he is perfect kicking field goals today. That's his job, and he has done it well so far.
Gabe Jacas: C
Very talented player. Got to Andy Dalton, but can't continue to make poor penalties. The roughing the passer was not a good one.
Kindle Vildor: A
The 28-year-old cornerback had a good first half of the game. The former Georgia Southern star made a couple really nice second quarter plays, including multiple on the same drive.
Efton Chism III: A
A 20-yard catch and run was an impressive one. That pushed him to two catches for 30 yards in the first 20 minutes of the game. He has a nice physical NFL body and nice hands. He finished with four receptions and 45 yards in the game.
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Dametrious Crownover: D
Coming in as a backup. His penalty in the second quarter hurt, pushing New England back. He is a rookie, so he has some work to do. The 6'7, 319lbs tackle played at Texas A&M. He also allowed a large sack in the early part of the third.
Jacob Rizy: C
Another rookie got "ragdolled" to allow a sack to end a drive in the second quarter. Rizy is 24 out of Florida State.
Behren Morton: A
Another rookie. This one out of Texas Tech was able to kick a 48-yard punt, but it went into the end zone. A little less to try to pin the Eagles in would have been nice there. But, he is a quarterback! Three strong passes to start the second half and 29 yards. He looked strong and poised under pressure. He came with a little Morton magic late in the game. Wrapped up the game 13 of 17 for 129 yards and a touchdown.
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Riley Wilson: B
Showed some quickness on the field, forcing the quarterback to get rid of the ball earlier than he wanted. The linebacker from Arizona saw some good second-quarter run.
Kyle Williams: A
Two touchdowns in two preseason games. Great speed. Great over-the-shoulder catch. Got to like his game for the Patriots!
Mike Brown: C
Questionable for not. The 33-year-old safety took a 15-yard penalty near the half that the team cannot afford.
Amari Gainer: B
Big sack to end the first half. It will be interesting to see if the 26-year-old can come up with some consistency on the offensive line for the Patriots.
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JaMycal Hasty: D+
He had five carries for 12 yards, but a big fumble late in the game gave the Eagles the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead. He also caught a pass for nine yards.
Nick DeGennaro: A
Good speed to him. Caught a nice late pass to extend the drive. Caught the game-winning touchdown pass. Finished with four receptions and 61 yards.
Tejhaun Palmer: C
Tough break for Palmer, who was open with a chance to potentially win the game, but apparently did not see the great ball thrown by Morton. He finished with a reception and nine yards in the game.
John Saunders Jr.: A
The defender had eight total tackles, including a team-high four solo, and a pass deflection.
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Quintayvious Hutchins: A
Biggest play of the game. The strip sack, forcing a fumble and sealing the game. The linebacker is a 23-year-old out of Boston College, so this was a fun one for him. Hutchins had two sacks on the game.
