There were touchdowns aplenty in the Week 2 match between the Eagles and Patriots. But when the game was on the line, the Patriots snuffed out the Eagles attempt at an equalizing touchdown.
Damaris Johnson was stopped on the goal line on third and fourth down late in the fourth quarter in the Eagles 42-35 loss to the Patriots on Friday night at Gillette Stadium.
The Eagles opened the scoring as a Tom Brady pass was intercepted by Cary Williams and returned 77 yards for a touchdown.
Brady responded with a commanding drive completed with a touchdown pass from 15 yards to Kenbrell Thompkins.
The Eagles didn't run an offensive play for nearly 10 minutes of game action. When they did, it was a short completion from Nick Foles to Ifeanyi Momah that was fumbled and recovered by the Patriots. They scored again moments later on a touchdown by James Develin. This time, it was a 15-yard completion from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo opened the second quarter with a short touchdown to Brandon Lafell. The Eagles tied the game at the half with two touchdowns, the first on a six-yard completion from Foles to Zach Ertz and the second on a four-yard pass tipped by Momah into the hands of Arrelious Benn from Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez and Matt Barkley each completed touchdown passes in the third quarter. But the Patriots added three scores on a pair of touchdown runs and a pass from Ryan Mallett to Brian Tyms.
That capped the scoring for the night. The fourth quarter featured one prime scoring chance for the Eagles. With Johnson playing out of the backfield, a pair of hand-offs up the middle were stopped on the goal line. The Patriots ran out the clock from there.
Foles was much-improved in this game, completing eight of 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. It was also a breakout game from Jordan Matthews, who finished with nine receptions for 104 yards.
Otherwise, the Eagles struggled, particularly on defense. The Eagles forced an early turnover, but lost Williams for the game in the process. On an early kick return, they also lost Josh Huff to injury as well.
So a short-handed defense was exposed easily. It was easy to notice how often Curtis Marsh was beat on passing routes.
The Eagles committed 10 penalties for 86 yards. They also committed four turnovers, two on fumbles and two on interceptions.
The Eagles fell to 0-2 on the preseason and host the final two preseason games. Their next game is on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
