The Philadelphia Eagles take on the New England Patriots for the first time since Super Bowl LII in the City of Brotherly Love. The return of the live game blog is here….

FIRST QUARTER

4:26 – Eagles get the ball first. Carson Wentz and running back Boston Scott combine for a 50-yard pass interference call on the first play of the game. Ball just outside the red zone for the Eagles.

4:30 – Pats D stiffens however, and the Eagles are forced to kick a field goal. You can already see what the Eagles are trying to do…isolate backs on linebackers.

EAGLES 3, PATRIOTS 0

4:37 – After a first down catch by Sony Michel, the NE drive stalls off of two incomplete passes from Brady to Edelman. Punt time.

4:44 – Eagles first down gets negated by an ineligible receiver downfield call on tackle Jason Peters. PUNT.

4:48 – Another Patriots drive starts with a first down and then sputters out thanks to a bad pitch play.

5:01 – Eagles start following drive deep inside their 10. Basically, picking their way out of trouble with 4-7 yard gains but a big screen play to Dallas Goedert sets the table as we go to the second quarter with the Eagles threatening to add to their 3-0 lead.

SECOND QUARTER

5:12 – Eagles take a 10-0 lead on a disputed TD that was originally ruled an interception by Jonathan Jones. It capped a 16-play, 95-yard drive – the longest against the Patriots in eight years. Oof.

EAGLES 10, PATRIOTS 0

5:24 – Another long drive but this time for the Patriots. A pass interference call puts New England in the red zone with the big play being a 3rd and 10 throw to Ben Watson. STRATEGIC NOTE: IF YOU THOUGHT THE PATS WOULD HAVE TROUBLE BLOCKING THE EAGLES D-LINE, YOU’D BE CORRECT. Pats settle for a Nick Folk field goal.

EAGLES 10, PATRIOTS 3

5:26 – Let’s check in on Marshall Newhouse trying to block Eagles defensive ends:

5:37 – Patriots on the move again. Brady’s numbers might look terrible in this game but he has zero protection. Sidenote, Philly’s right tackle Lane Johnson left the game with a concussion. Unlikely to return.

5:44 – New England has a goal to go….Rodney McLeod drops a sure interception but then on the next play, Julian Edelman drops what should have been a touchdown pass. And of course, the next pass is incomplete. Field goal.

EAGLES 10, PATRIOTS 6

5:49 – The Johnson comes into play on the next drive as the Patriots collapse the pocket of Johnson’s old spot and force a Wentz fumble. Patriots recover and have the football inside of the Philly 40. TWO MINUTE WARNING TIME.

5:54 – Eagles D holds and stiffens again. Pats have to settle for a 39-yard Nick Folk field goal. Missed opportunity there.

EAGLES 10, PATRIOTS 9

6:00 – The Eagles make a push for a field goal but it ends with Wentz getting sacked on second down and then, a bad snap leads to another sack on third down. That caps it for a defense friendly first half.

HALFTIME: EAGLES 10, PATRIOTS 9

THE KEY TO THE FIRST HALF IS HERE:

THIRD QUARTER: 

6:15 – Pats ball to start the second half…complete with a no-huddle to start.

6:21 – Just when it looked like New England’s drive would stall again deep in Philly territory. The Patriots dig deep into their bag of tricks. Edelman catches a lateral from Brady and then fires a strike to Philip Dorsett for six. James White tacks on a two-point run to build the leads.

PATRIOTS 17, EAGLES 10

6:28 – Eagles go three and out…fueled by a Dallas Goedert drop. PUNT.

6:30 – The Patriots follow suit and return the favor while in the no-huddle.

6:37 – Not a great drive for the Eagles once again. A false start penalty leads to a 3rd and 15 sack by Dont’a Hightower and another Eagles punt.

6:44 – New England gets the ball near midfield and run a sweep out of a shotgun formation on 3rd and 7. Meh. Not the greatest call, which leads to you guessed it, another punt for the Patriots that is touched up at the 2. By the way, Dorsett got concussed on the touchdown play. So, he’s likely out.

6:53 – Both teams trade punts, which is equally frustrating for New England, who got the ball at midfield and went next to nowhere after an Eagles sack.

6:54 – The third quarter ends. This is definitely a game where if the Patriots get a two score lead, the game is basically over. However, the Eagles defense is not exactly cooperating with them.

END OF 3: PATRIOTS 17, EAGLES 10

7:08 – The Eagles can’t generate anything on another nothing drive. Their best hope at this point is for a Patriot penalty. Things aren’t much better on the other side. The Patriots can’t get out of their own way. A holding call essentially kills a drive that was approaching midfield. Time for more punts. Remember, there was only one punt in Super Bowl LII. Today, there have been 14. Woof.

7:15 – The Eagles nail a 25-yard strike to Ertz but the drive Peters out immediately after. The good news is that the punt is touched up at the 1. New England will have to get out of their own end. Otherwise, the Eagles have a decent shot to tie this game up.

7:16 – The Vegas line on this game was Patriots by 4.5 at kickoff. Remember, Vegas is unstoppable.

7:23 – Patriots dig out of their own end by stall around their 40 yard line. Ten straight punts.

7:27 – Eagles at midfield with the two minute warning arriving….

7:35 – Belichick dials up the Cover 0 of Doom call to force an incomplete pass towards the end zone by Wentz, which was intended for Agholor.

7:40 – Pats possession goes run, run, run, punt.

7:45 – The Eagles muster up a few yards to get near midfield after a JC Jackson interception was negated by a defensive penalty. A final Hail Mary attempt falls short of the end zone. It’s all over.

FINAL: PATRIOTS 17, EAGLES 10 

SUMMARY: The Eagles were put in a sleeperhold for nearly two and a half hours by the Patriots defense. After that initial 10-0 flurry, the Eagles got into a lot of Battleship Football and ended up guessing a lot it seemed. Plus, they were doomed by a ton of drops. As for the Patriots, they’ve got to figure out their offensive issues especially in the red zone. The offensive line is terrible and Brady has to be Deshaun Watson at times in the pocket to have a chance back there. They definitely need home-field advantage to possibly defend their title.