Eagles look to take advantage of declining Patriots secondary

 For most teams, the 2023 National Football League season will begin on Sunday. Such is the case for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, who will be meeting in Foxborough, Mass. for one of the marquee matchups of the opening week.

The Eagles, of course, are the defending NFC champions, and the Patriots are still one of the biggest names in the NFL despite their recent struggles. Following the departure of longtime quarterback Tom Brady, New England has missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Given the recent success of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, as well as the anticipated success of the New York Jets, the Pats are in danger of a last-place finish in the AFC East for the first time since 2000.

Much of the criticism surrounding the Patriots' fall from grace has been leveled at the offense, particularly quarterback Mac Jones. After a solid rookie campaign in 2021 that saw him throw for 3,800 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, Jones regressed last season by throwing for just under 3,000 yards with only 14 touchdown passes. This past offseason, New England signed free-agent wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back Ezekiel Elliott in the hopes of alleviating their offensive woes. They also brought back former offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien to serve in the same position following last season's failed offensive coaching platoon of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge.

But while the Patriots offense was under the offseason microscope, not much was done to address a staggering defense. In the past, the likes of Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, Vince Wilfork and Stephon Gilmore anchored a defense that was consistently among the NFL's elite units, quietly getting the job done while Brady and the offense got all the glory. Nowadays, aside from linebacker Matt Judon, there aren't many household names lining up in New England's defense.

It was just four seasons ago that the Patriots surrendered an average of 14.1 points per game, a remarkably low number in today's points-happy NFL. Last season, while New England still had some solid days on defense (surrendering just three points in back-to-back games and pitching a shutout in week five against Detroit), their 347 points allowed were only good for 11th-fewest in the NFL. It was the first time they ranked outside of the top ten in scoring defense since 2011. Against the run, the Patriots were still superb, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (seven). Their secondary, however, left much to be desired. While New England tallied the third-most interceptions of any team (19), they also surrendered the sixth-most passing touchdowns (28).

If the Eagles want to win on Sunday, it seems clear that they'll have to rely on their passing game. No problem there, as they boast one of the best aerial attacks in the NFL with Jalen Hurts throwing to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. But Philadelphia is also trying to decide who will get the most carries in the run game between D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell. It's best not to experiment against a Patriots rushing defense that's still among the best in the league.

All eyes will be on Mac Jones and his new tools on offense, but if New England truly wants to pull an opening-day upset, they need their secondary to shape up.