A lot of Patriots fans will understandably roll their eyes at talk of another “moral victory” to open the 2023 season. Nonetheless, WFAN host and CBS analyst Boomer Esiason did see “glimpses of hope” in New England’s 25-20 loss to the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
“I know nobody likes moral victories, especially up in New England on a day that you're honoring your best player in the history of the sport, but I have to tell you, I saw glimpses of hope, especially on offense with Bill O'Brien calling the plays and putting Mac Jones in a really good spot,” Esiason said during his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show Monday morning.
“And quite frankly, the defense played, I thought, really, really well. And if it weren't for that pick-six by Darius Slay and maybe the fumble by Ezekiel Elliott, overall I would say that I would give the slight edge to the Patriots outplaying the Philadelphia Eagles, although the scoreboard didn't show it.”
“That performance yesterday by the New England Patriots would give me hope if I were a Patriot fan, especially the passing game,” Esiason added. “You know, Mac throws a great ball to Boutte [on the final fourth-down attempt of the game], but he just can't get a second foot down. It would have been apropo to win the game at the end of the game with Tom Brady in the house, but unfortunately, Boutte couldn't keep his second foot down.”
Jones’ day started with the interception return for a touchdown that Esiason mentioned and ended with a couple failed fourth-down conversions – one a desperation heave on a 4th-and-17, the other the aforementioned pass along the sidelines to Boutte that was initially ruled a completion, but then overturned once replay made it clear Boutte only got one foot down before stepping out of bounds.
In between, there was a lot of encouraging play, though. With the Patriots falling behind early and the running game struggling to get going, O’Brien leaned heavily on Jones and the passing game, and the third-year quarterback ultimately finished with 35 completions on 54 attempts for 316 yards and three touchdowns. The completions and attempts were both career highs, the three TDs tied his career high, and the 316 passing yards were the third-most of his career.