New England Patriots 9/08/23 – Week 1 Patriots vs. Eagles: Matchups, previews, More!

Daily news and links for Friday

Week 1 kicked off in the Patriots favor. It’s always helpful when an AFC rival loses to the NFC and more fun when the losing team is the latest darling of the league. Unlike Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, Tom Brady’s Patriots were never considered one of the ‘beautiful people’ in the NFL – even while winning championships. In fact the league and the officials tried to level the field to bring them down. Rules changes (too many to list), the phantom OPI calls on Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski because they were just so much better than their peers, the draft picks taken away after blown-up phony scandals are just a few examples of how that played out.

This is why when New England takes the field on Sunday they have to play a tight, disciplined game. Their offensive line isn’t going to get away with uncalled false starts like Chief’s OT Jawaan Taylor, who lined up illegally all night long. Everything counts this year. For the Patriots that starts with recognizing there is no such thing as home-field advantage. Opponents, including the referees, will pick their mistakes apart – just like the Patriots used to do. Go Pats!

TEAM TALK

• Patriots-Eagles updated Injury Report.
• Evan Lazar’s Patriots Gameplan: Slowing down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles pass rush.
• Mike Dussault tells us the 10 key things to watch as the Patriots face a stiff opening test vs. Eagles. 1. Can Pats O-line come together?
• 21 Questions: Get to know Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott.
• Officials announce Gillette Stadium Lighthouse will open to the general public October 1.
• Press Conferences: Deatrich Wise – Ja’Whaun Bentley – Matthew Judon – Lawrence Guy – Mac Jones.
• Tamara Brown and Mike Dussault preview the Patriots Week 1 matchup against the Eagles. (4 min. video)
• Patriots All Access: Stadium improvements special edition. (19 min. video)
• Belestrator: Defending the Eagles offensive weapons. (3.13 min. video)
• One-on-One with Jonathan Jones. (2.33 min. video)
• Patriots Catch-22: Deep dive into key Eagles matchups, recent roster moves, Brady halftime ceremony. (93 min.)
• Patriots Unfiltered: NFL Week 1 picks, Thursday practice report, wrapping up Eagles preview. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Murph (E2GSports) Monster keys to Patriots Eagles. 1. Crush and contain: Keep Hurts in front of them…and keep him from extending plays and finding breakdowns late. /So happy to be in ‘the keys to the game’ season.
• Steve Balestrieri (PatsFans) Patriots vs Eagles Week 1 —Things to know about the Eagles; Key matchups – Who has the razor’s edge? Patriots RBs vs. Eagles front seven: Edge New England. More! /Good read.
• Dakota Randall’s Patriots season preview: What we feel good about, what we don’t.
• Zack Cox. talks about what losing Jack Jones means for the cornerback group: Jones suffered a hamstring injury in practice Wednesday
• Lauren Campbell explains how Matt Patricia has been helping the Eagles coach Nick Sirianni ahead of Week 1. Sirianni told reporters on Wednesday that he was picking the brain of Patricia — who’s now a senior defensive assistant for the Eagles — and is “always asking questions” to those who have spent time around Bill Belichick.
• Lauren Campbell notes Jalen Hurts returns respect for ‘one of the best coaches’ Bill Belichick.
• Chris Mason’s Patriots Mailbag: Who will be Patriots X factor vs. Eagles?
• Andrew Callahan explains why it’s a good thing that Bill O’Brien’s honeymoon phase will be over soon. /Too many kisses being blown his way, according to Callahan. Once they start losing he’ll be free to blast the guy.
• Doug Kyed reports the league still hasn’t ruled out discipline for Jack Jones. An NFL spokesperson said the league has “been following developments in the matter which remains under review.”
• Jerry Thornton spotlights the NFL putting the world on notice that the regular rules will not apply to the Chiefs. Chiefs OT Jawaan Taylor was permitted to commit false starts all night long without penalty. /If the Chiefs are so great, and Mahomes is Superman, they don’t need the league propping them up.
• A Clare Perspective podcast: Clare Cooper welcomes Nick Stevens to talk all things Patriots. (35 min.)
• Patriots Fourth and Two podcast: Patriots vs Eagles preview and NFL season predictions. (73 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Bill Belichick on preparing for Jalen Hurts: Nobody has anybody that can mimic him.
• Ben Solak (The Ringer) The X factors for all 32 NFL teams. Patriots: WR DeVante Parker/WR JuJu Smith-Schuster/WR Kendrick Bourne/WR Tyquan Thornton/WR anyone, I’m begging you, please.
• Jeff Kerr (CBS Sports) NFL coach hot seat rankings entering Week 1.
• Eric Edholm (NFL.com) Week 1: What we learned from Lions knocking off Chiefs in kickoff game.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Officials looked the other way on many Jawaan Taylor fouls. /It was comical.
• Michael Dixon (Awful Announcing) Cris Collinsworth: America is about to find out how good Patrick Mahomes is. “Are there people who aren’t aware?”
• John Breech (CBS Sports) NFL Week 1 picks: Chiefs win thriller over Lions, Patriots shock Eagles 22-19. /Uh-oh.
• Sheil Kapadia (The Ringer) Week 1 NFL picks against the spread. Eagles (-4).
• Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) Week 1 NFL picks. Eagles 30-22.

VIEW FROM PHILLY

• Dave Spadaro (PhiladelphiaEagles) A heavyweight showdown to open the season.
• Dave Spadaro (PhiladelphiaEagles) 6 key matchups to watch in Eagles vs. Patriots .
• Glen Erby (EaglesWire) Eagles projected starting defense for Week 1 vs. Patriots.
• Fran Duffy (PhiladelphiaEagles) Breaking down 3 key aspects of the Patriots’ defense.
• Glen Erby (EaglesWire) Eagles vs. Patriots: 10 stats to know for Week 1.
• Glenn Erby (EaglesWire) 5 potential breakout players for the Eagles in 2023.
• J McGraw (EaglesWire) Eagles have favorable spotlight games this season.