FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A look at the New England Patriots players who were “up” and those who were “down” in Sunday’s 35-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles:
UP
Danny Amendola: Returning after missing a game with a left knee injury, the receiver caught an 11-yard touchdown pass. A 14-yard catch on third-and-12 in the third quarter was another big-time play.
Malcolm Butler: The starting cornerback opened the game strong with a couple of pass breakups and was competitive in coverage throughout. On a day when there were few bright spots, he was one of them.
James White: White had a 4-yard reception for a touchdown in the second quarter, and delivered a 24-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter to get the Patriots to the 1-yard line, but they couldn’t capitalize. He finished with 115 receiving yards, which is a career high.
DOWN
Tom Brady: The Patriots quarterback threw a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the goal line when he tried to fit a pass into a tight window to Amendola, then later threw an uncharacteristically long interception in the end zone after a trick play in which he recorded a 36-yard reception (his first since 2001) had galvanized the crowd.
Offensive line: The Patriots started with a group of left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, left guard Josh Kline, center Bryan Stork, right guard Tre’ Jackson and right tackle Marcus Cannon, and rotated rookie Shaq Mason as a third guard. This group lost the overall battle at the line of scrimmage.
Special teams coaching and execution: The turning point of the game came in the second quarter when the Patriots attempted a drop kick on a kickoff. The Eagles took advantage of the short field, scored a touchdown, and then followed that up by blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown, before returning a punt for a score. A bad day at the office for the Patriots' special teams.