The Patriots played their second preseason game on Thursday night and defeated the Eagles 35-0 in Philadelphia. Here are five players that stood out in the victory:
Cam Newton
Newton started the game and looked sharp. He finished 8/9 passing for 103 yards and 1 passing touchdown. The Patriots scored two touchdowns with Newton at quarterback, one of them was only a 2-play, 9-yard drive after Matt Judon forced a Joe Flacco fumble and the Patriots recovered. The other drive, however, was 8 plays and 66 yards. It culminated in a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers. In between the two touchdown drives, the New England offense got within field goal range but Quinn Nordin missed the kick. Newton stepped up in the pocket when needed and did a good job finding throwing windows and delivering accurate passes.
Jakobi Meyers
Meyers looked like the Patriots number one receiver on Thursday night. His 28-yard touchdown catch was one of three that he had for a total of 56 yards. On the touchdown, Meyers caught a dig route across the middle and used his speed to turn up the sideline and outrun the Eagles defense for a score. Meyers has shown in training camp that his strong second half of 2020 was not a fluke and that continued on Thursday night.
Offensive Line
I’m putting the whole offensive line here because the unit was dominant. In fairness, the Eagles played mostly backups, but the Patriots protected all their quarterbacks well and ran with impunity. New England finished with 207 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per rush. The Patriots also scored four touchdowns on the ground. The Patriots offensive line is one of the best in the NFL and the Eagles saw that up close on Thursday.
Harvey Langi
Langi has had a long road back to New England after suffering a serious car accident as a rookie, missing time, and then spending a year with the Jets. Langi seems happy to be back and he flashed some strong play against the Eagles. He had five tackles (one for loss) and one sack. The Patriots front seven is a crowded group, but Langi has been putting together solid performances in an effort to make the team.
Matt Judon
Judon was on this list last week and he picked up right where he left off. On the Eagles first drive, a botched snap resulted in Joe Flaco scrambling to pick up the football. As soon as he did, Judon was all over him and forced a fumble. He had two tackles in total and continued to show his top tier athleticism in limited action.