After two joint practices, there were more reps to be taken under the Gillette Stadium lights.
The New England Patriots turned those reps into a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night in Foxborough.
Here’s a glance back on the 7 p.m. ET kickoff before sights set on the preseason finale and the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline.
DeVito, Williams connect for second preseason TDAfter starting the preseason opener, Tommy DeVito handled a similar workload on Saturday night.
New England’s No. 2 quarterback went 8-of-15 passing for 151 yards against Philadelphia. He again found one touchdown and no turnovers before calling it an outing. Six drives had been logged on the odometer by then.
DeVito moved the chains on third-and-3 and first-and-10 scrambles. The waiver claim from the NFL’s 2025 cutdown deadline finished with 44 yards rushing as All-Pro captain Drake Maye looked on from the sideline, led by a 36-yard sprint.
In “21” personnel with C.J. Dippre at tight end and Tanner Arkin at fullback, Efton Chism III and Kyle Williams served as the perimeter starters for the Patriots’ offense. The wide receivers from Eastern Washington and Washington State combined for six catches for 119 yards, including a 69-yard go route down the right sideline by the latter target for his second touchdown in as many weeks. The third snap of that drive gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead as Eagles cornerback Ambry Thomas chased the deep speed in coverage.
It’d be Behren Morton’s turn under center for New England by the 10:23 mark in the third quarter. The Texas Tech alum, selected No. 234 overall in the 2026 NFL draft, doubled as a specialist during his second relief appearance. A 48-yard punt into the end zone for a touchback was followed by a 43-yard effort and then a 42-yard effort. The rookie QB went on to complete 13-of-17 passes for 129 yards a touchdown of his own.
A third-and-8 shot to the end zone down 21-17 got lost in the lights. But a 38-yarder to undrafted wideout Nick DeGennaro did not, capping off an 11-play, 73-yard drive with a touchdown and a 24-21 victory.
Reshuffled O-line takes another hitAttrition struck the interior of the offensive line during what became a 13-13 tie with the Indianapolis Colts last week. In the absence of proven backup Ben Brown as well as Andrew Rupcich, who recently reached an injury settlement, there was a new arrangement on deck.
Saturday night’s starting five included rookie Caleb Lomu at left tackle. The No. 28 overall pick out of Utah let up a sack late in the first half and was flanked by Mehki Butler at left guard, Jacob Rizy at center and James Hudson III, who was flagged for two holding penalties on the initial drive, at right guard.
And at right tackle, Marcus Bryant exited five offensive snaps in after getting his left ankle rolled up. The sophomore bookend was quickly ruled out and replaced by rookie sixth-rounder Dametrious Crownover from Texas A&M en route to a false start. The Eagles hit home for four sacks by game’s end.
RB3 race tightens as Larison finds end zoneBehind the tandem of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, the Patriots remain in search of a third running back. Versus the Eagles, that search went forward with Lan Larison in the starting spot.
The redshirt from UC Davis took the game’s opening kickoff and proceeded to handle nine carries for 33 yards, three catches for 41 yards, plus a touchdown in the final quarter. A long of 28 as well as second efforts to convert on fourth-and-1 and third-and-6 were there, too.
Rookie Jam Miller spelled into the backfield to the tune of 36 rushing yards across a team-high 11 handoffs. The No. 245 overall pick out of Alabama broke free for a long of 20 after pacing the backfield in the preseason opener.
New England’s depth chart was rounded out by veteran August additions. Hassan Haskins rushed for 16 yards, while JaMycal Hasty lost a fumble on his way out of bounds in the fourth quarter and finished with 21 yards from scrimmage.
Two sacks off the edgesNew England’s edge depth has been under the microscope. That held true on Saturday evening.
Gabe Jacas was flagged for roughing the passer, but the No. 55 overall pick from Illinois tacked on three tackles to go with a quarterback hit. March signing Jesse Luketa got the start across from the rookie outside linebacker. And rotating in for the Patriots’ first sack of the night was a disciplined, gaming Amari Gainer to end the first half.
Back-to-back turnovers on downs and a punt were how things got out of intermission for the defense. Yet with 3:39 to play, an unaccounted-for swing pass to Carson Steele in the right flat saw the visitors retake the lead after fellow Eagles running back Will Shipley previously got on the board.
Then the final selection in New England’s 2026 draft got on the board, too. Boston College product Quintayvious Hutchins strip-sacked quarterback Cole Payton and defensive tackle Casey Rogers was there to recover the fumble as time expired.
Looking for off-ball depthKhalil Jacobs got the call off the ball for the Patriots on Saturday. The undrafted free agent by way of South Alabama and Missouri logged a pair of tackles between defense and special teams, including a stop in the open field on third-and-10 to send the punt unit on.
Veteran Chad Muma, who was beaten on a bootleg and missed a tackle before the first quarter concluded, also drew the start at inside linebacker.
But two chunk plays on screen passes helped the Eagles retake the lead at 14-10 shortly before intermission. With tackling hard to rely on early, Eagles QB Tanner McKee hit receiver Britain Covey for a 14-yard touchdown as rookie linebacker Riley Wilson slipped by his intended target in traffic. The results would be different next time Philadelphia stepped into the red zone, however. A fourth-and-3 pass was met by close coverage from sixth-rounder Namdi Obiazor via TCU to halt the possession.
Vildor, Saunders continue to have a handOn the heels of intercepting two passes last week, New England’s secondary remained active.
The Patriots’ starting cornerbacks included Karon Prunty, Marcellas Dial Jr. and a previous pick collector in Kindle Vildor. The journeyman among them nearly got his second of the preseason and soon deflected two more on the same series to force a punt. A strong case continued there.
The starting nickel package also featureed Dell Pettus and another August ballhawk in John Saunders Jr., who broke up a pass in the second quarter and added a strong stop in space in the third quarter. A penalty for unnecessary roughness arrived in between against third safety Mike Brown.
Back through the uprightsIn the summer opener, Andy Borregales missed three attempts wide left. But the lone kicker on New England’s roster kept things through the uprights in his follow-up.
The reigning PFWA All-Rookie selection did so by converting his lone field goal and going 3-of-3 on extra points against Philadelphia.
As part of the operation, the Patriots had fellow 2025 draft choice Julian Ashby back at long snapper on Saturday night after the waiving of backup Niko Lalos. And from there came a 41-yarder in the second quarter with punter Bryce Baringer holding.