On Thursday, the New England Patriots will host the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Both teams are coming off wins in Week 1 and will continue their preseason.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Week 2 preseason matchup between the Patriots and Eagles, including how to watch, how to listen, the start time, and more.
Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots
- Start time: Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, 7 p.m. ET
- Channel: NFL Network
- Live stream options: NFL App, NFL+, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, NFL+
- Radio stations: Eagles Gameday Radio, 98.5 The Sports Hub
- Starting QBs:
- Betting lines:
- Spread: NE -2.5
- Total: 36.5
- Moneyline: NE -148, PHI +124
The Eagles head to Gillette Stadium as the Patriots play their second preseason home game in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL preseason. The Patriots looked solid in their preseason debut.
Head coach Jerod Mayo’s defense suffocated the Panthers offense, holding Carolina to 151 yards and scoreless until Harrison Mevis’ 41-yard field goal with one minute and 54 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The defense got adequate pressure, sacking Carolina’s signal-callers five times for 35 yards, although they couldn’t force any turnovers.
Meanwhile, all the QBs on the roster got some action. While Bailey Zappe’s yardage total stands out in the box score, rookie sixth-round pick Joe Milton III turned some heads with a solid performance. The rookie completed four of his six passes for 54 yards, including a 38-yard TD to WR JaQuae Jackson. He also added five rushes for 22 yards.
The Eagles also won in Week 1 of the preseason, grinding out a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Like the Patriots, the Eagles’ defense held Baltimore to 164 yards of offense, and the passing attack failed to materialize. As for the offense, newly acquired QB Kenny Pickett looked relatively comfortable, and one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks got off to a hot start with 38 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown.
However, a cause for concern would be for the NFL’s second-highest-paid kicker, Jake Elliott, who missed two attempts against the Ravens. The first miss came in Elliott’s first attempt after Pickett threw a touchdown pass to WR Will Shipley. The second came with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter. After driving to the Baltimore 32 yard-line, Elliott missed the go-ahead 50-yard field goal off the right upright.
Thursday Night Football Picks and Predictions
If you’ve been following along with the Patriots’ beat reporters, you will know it’s been a tough week of practice. While the defense has stood up admirably against the Eagles’ offense, the Patriots’ offensive line has been a major concern, which throws huge question marks around the offense’s potential.
If this were a regular-season game, you would fairly easily make the Eagles favorites, even on the road. However, it’s Week 2 of the NFL preseason, and history tells us that Philadelphia’s primary starters won’t see much action this week.
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In last year’s preseason, Jalen Hurts took no part, and neither did his main weapons. That is unlikely to change, and even if Hurts were to suit up, it would probably be a brief appearance. That somewhat explains why the Patriots are favored here.
Last week, New England showed us basically everyone who was healthy at some point. That’s likely to be the case again this week and helps explain why they’re favored. The question is whether the Patriots’ starters are significantly better than the Eagles’ backups (which must be a chilling thing to read as a New England fan).
Ultimately, this game will be of fairly low quality in terms of offense. Sure, the Patriots may use their starters on offense, but the Eagles’ defense has some pretty good players and plenty vying for roles when the regular season begins.
Prediction:Â Patriots 10, Eagles 9
