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WEEK 12: PATRIOTS 38, EAGLES 20
Tom Brady and the Patriots picked apart the Eagles at Philadelphia. Recap Discuss 
- Belichick salutes Patriots' mental toughness
- Prolific Brady puts all injury worries to rest
- Vollmer wears walking boot after Pats' win
- Edelman continues to make impact on defense
PATRIOTS BLOG
Pass Offense
Tom Brady dissected the Eagles' defense, completing 24-of-34 passes for 361 yards with three TDs and no INTs. WRs Wes Welker (8 receptions, 115 yards, 2 TDs) and Deion Branch (6 receptions, 125 yards) shouldered the load, while TEs Aaron Hernandez (6 catches, 62 yards) and Rob Gronkowski (4 catches, 59 yards, TD) chipped in. The most impressive aspect: Going up against Philadelphia's vaunted pass rush, the Patriots allowed only one sack.
Rush Offense
The overall numbers aren't particularly impressive: 104 yards on 36 trots (2.9 yards per carry) and it's never a good thing when Tom Brady (5 carries, 28 yards) is your second leading rusher. But BenJarvus Green-Ellis produced some key carries on the first scoring drive, reached the end zone twice and helped turn the momentum around.
Pass Defense
The Eagles' passing numbers ballooned as Vince Young finished 26-of-48 for 400 yards. But New England and a dinged-up secondary limited the damage overall. In fact, the high passing numbers were a direct result of New England opening such a big lead that it forced the Eagles to abandon their running game. The Patriots tightened up on third down and in the red zone and Antwaun Molden registered his first career INT.
Rush Defense
Going up against the league's leading rusher and a mobile quarterback was a recipe for disaster on the ground. Instead, the Patriots limited LeSean McCoy to a mere 31 yards on 10 carries, while Vince Young added 40 yards on six carries. The Eagles generated a mere 73 yards on 17 carries (4.3 yards per trot), but take away a 22-yard run by McCoy and the Eagles did virtually nothing outside of Young's scrambling.
Special Teams
Not much to rave about here as Stephen Gostkowski missed a 39-yard field goal early on. But much was made entering the game about DeSean Jackson's big-play potential and, of New England's three punts, the Eagles fair caught two of them and let another get downed. Zoltan Mesko finished with a 48.3 average and pinned two inside the 20. Simply not giving Jackson a chance to beat them was a victory here.
Coaching
Patriots coaches pumped the tires of the Eagles all week and that may have helped keep their team afloat when Philadelphia scored the game's first 10 points. New England didn't get discouraged and rallied back, overcoming their own injuries (particularly on defense). It wasn't exactly pretty, but the Patriots are 8-3, and the bottom line is all that matters.
EXPERTS' PREDICTIONS
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- Reiss
- Bruschi
- Golic
- Forsberg
- Jones
- Mortensen
- Schefter
- Schlereth
| 2013 New England Patriots Preseason Schedule | ||||||
| WK | DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT/TIME (ET) | RESOURCES | ||
| 1 | Fri, Aug 9 | 7:30 PM | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 2 | Fri, Aug 16 | 8:00 PM FOX | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 3 | Thu, Aug 22 | 7:30 PM | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 4 | Thu, Aug 29 |
| 7:30 PM | Tickets | Travel | ||
| 2013 New England Patriots Regular Season Schedule | ||||||
| WK | DATE | OPPONENT | RESULT/TIME (ET) | RESOURCES | ||
| 1 | Sun, Sep 8 | 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 2 | Thu, Sep 12 |
| 8:25 PM NFL | Tickets | Travel | ||
| 3 | Sun, Sep 22 | 1:00 PM FOX | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 4 | Sun, Sep 29 | 8:30 PM NBC | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 5 | Sun, Oct 6 | 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 6 | Sun, Oct 13 | 4:25 PM FOX | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 7 | Sun, Oct 20 | 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 8 | Sun, Oct 27 |
| 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | ||
| 9 | Sun, Nov 3 | 4:25 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 10 | BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Mon, Nov 18 | 8:30 PM | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 12 | Sun, Nov 24 |
| 8:30 PM NBC | Tickets | Travel | ||
| 13 | Sun, Dec 1 | 4:25 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 14 | Sun, Dec 8 | 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 15 | Sun, Dec 15 | 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 16 | Sun, Dec 22 | 8:30 PM NBC | Tickets | Travel | |||
| 17 | Sun, Dec 29 |
| 1:00 PM CBS | Tickets | Travel | ||
PODCASTS
Tedy Bruschi
Troy Brown
Kyle Arrington, Patriots
ESPN Boston Radio: Mike Reiss (1/17)
ESPN Boston Radio: Matt Light (1/17)
ESPN Boston Radio with Adam Jones: 1/17
Matt Light
ESPN NFL analyst Tedy Bruschi talks about the leadership styles of Patriots coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady. Brady has become more vocal as he's gotten older.
Former New England Patriots WR Troy Brown describes the change that takes place in the Patriots locker room in the playoffs. Brown says he likes the Patriots to beat the Ravens.
Patriots CB Kyle Arrington talks about the win over the Broncos, the challenges the Ravens wide receivers present for New England's defense and his emotions heading into Sunday's game.
ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss on the Pats win over the Broncos and looks ahead to the Ravens in the AFC Championship game
Patriots LT Matt Light recaps Broncos win and talks Ravens
Wall to wall Patriots coverage with ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss and Patriots OT Matt Light
New England Patriots tackle Matt Light says having been around QB Tom Brady so long, he's used to Brady's tremendous focus and intensity in the playoffs and all season long.
BLOG
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