New England's defense battled an Eagles offense in transition over the past two practices.

Along with trading Pro Bowl WR A.J. Brown to the Patriots this offseason, Philadelphia is installing a new offense under first-time coordinator Sean Mannion, who is replacing former OC Kevin Patullo. Reports from Philly prior to the joint practices indicated the Eagles offensive install was a work in progress. Plus, Philly practiced without top WR DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and first-rounder Makai Lemon (hamstring), who was drafted in part to replace the production left behind by Brown.

Although the Eagles are working through their own issues offensively, credit where credit is due to the Patriots defense, which was a turnover-producing machine despite being without star CB Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots ranked 21st in the NFL in takeaways in 2025, an area the defense is trying to improve on this season. The Pats defense picked off Eagles QB Jalen Hurts five times, including a pair of interceptions by NCB Marcus Jones in Thursday's session.   After the Eagles running game found some early success, New England also seemed to bottle up RB Saquon Barkley eventually.

"We can win a lot of games with the energy we played [with on Thursday]. That started from Vrabel just challenging us earlier this morning, challenging us last night. Just the culture here, how everybody wants to play football," linebacker K.J. Britt said following Thursday's practice. "Vrabel, he does a good job just keeping us on our toes, making sure that we get the best out of us. And we've got a defense that wants to respond to it. We're not going to take it. We just want to build off of it and have fun with it."

New England's defensive front punched back on the ground game on day two, but there's still some concern about the Patriots pass rush. In particular, Philly's O-Line, which is considered elite by most, was mostly able to keep Hurts clean when the Pats used a standard four-man rush. Most of the Pats pressure came from blitzes, particularly to end day one with a stop in a two-minute drill. On the first two plays of the drive, safeties Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard got home with blitzes that forced quick throws by Hurts that were broken up by Byard (on TE Dallas Goedert) and LB Christian Elliss (on Barkley).

Then, Patriots DT Christian Barmore came through Philly's offensive line unblocked for a "sack" that effectively ended the Eagles attempt at executing a late-game situation. The three-play sequence was a snapshot into the possible plan for DC Zak Kuhr and company this season. After blitzing on 44.3% of their opponents' drop-backs in the 2025 playoffs, the Patriots defense could pick up where it left off last postseason.

However, there's some risk involved with playing a blitz-heavy brand of football. Although they were getting home against the Eagles, defenses that blitz at a high rate tend to give up big plays. The Patriots will need their secondary to be a strength in order for their coverage to hold up behind blitz schemes. That means they'll need a healthy Gonzalez, Jones, and Carlton Davis III to match up against the top receivers on opposing offenses when resources are committed to the pass rush.

Ideally, someone would emerge on the edge to raise the ceiling of the Patriots four-man pass rush, whether that's free-agent addition Dre'Mont Jones, year-two leap candidate Elijah Ponder, second-rounder Gabe Jacas, or Harold Landry III once he's activated off the PUP list. New England has game-wreckers on the inside in Milton Williams and Christian Barmore but it might need one of those edge rushers to exceed expectations to balance out the play-calling in passing situations.

Here are 15 takeaways on the Patriots defense from two joint practices with the Eagles.

- To the Patriots defense's credit, they were highly effective when blitzing Hurts. There were only two occasions where the Eagles gashed the Pats behind a blitz: a completed wheel route to RB Will Shipley when Ponder dropped out of the rush and another screen pass into the blitz. Besides that, New England's blitz schemes were hitting when Kuhr dialed them up.

- The one area of the run defense that was a bit worrisome was Shipley bouncing two runs off-tackle a la former Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker in the Super Bowl. The Pats seemed to limit those cutbacks better as the practices wore on but the idea was to be stouter on the edge with the acquisition of Jones and drafting Jacas.

- DT Milton Williams showed out against his former team with multiple bull-rush wins during 1-on-1s, particularly against Eagles G Landon Dickerson, who Williams put on skates twice. Williams also appeared to get into the backfield for a possible "sack" in team on Thursday and was in the backfield on several run plays. There was at least one occasion where it appeared Williams might have tackled Barkley in the backfield on a play that eventually went for a big run. Williams looks primed for another big season in New England.

- DT Christian Barmore is still working his way back into practice but participated in a limited capacity on both days. Barmore took part in some 1-on-1s and third-down/situational team periods. He logged the "sack" in two-minute and flashed his power on a 1-on-1 vs. G Tyler Steen in Wednesday's practice. The Pats got gashed a few times on interior runs during early-down team periods without Barmore in there, so maybe he would have made a difference if he was a full participant in team drills.

- DT Cory Durden had some struggles at the point of attack in the run game in Wednesday's session but seemed to bounce back on day two. Durden has consistently repped at nose tackle in the Pats base fronts, with second-year DT Joshua Farmer joining him and Williams with Barmore limited. Again, it was a bit shaky on the first day but the Pats held up better in each run period as the two days wore on.

- DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. continued to flash in the pass rush after logging four pressures in the preseason opener last week. Pharms can really rush the passer. He has quickness into the line of scrimmage and some good hand counters to beat blocks. He's in the mix to make the team at DT along with Barmore, Durden, Farmer, and Williams.

- Rookie EDGE Gabe Jacas is trending in the right direction, flashing his power and motor vs. the Eagles. He went right through Eagles OT Myles Hinton on a bull rush in 1-on-1s during Wednesday's session. I find myself writing "No. 50" in my notes enough to get excited and HC Mike Vrabel has worked closely with Jacas on his technique. The rookie's power, motor, and quickness to slip into gaps is translating to the pro level. The Pats just need to coach him up on the details, with Vrabel taking a hands-on approach.

- It was a quiet few days for top edge rushers Dre'Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder vs. Eagles OTs Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, who are two of the best players at their positions in the NFL. Ponder beat Mailata to flush Hurts from the pocket late in Thursday's practice, which was good to see. The Pats need him to be able to log pressures against tackles of Mailata's caliber.

- The Patriots practiced without LB Chad Muma, who appeared to suffer an injury in the preseason opener after struggling vs. the Colts. Although it was mostly Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss as the top linebackers, Muma's injury opened the door for K.J. Britt and rookie Namdi Obiazor to get more run. Britt stuffed a run in Wednesday's session but it's fair to wonder if the Pats have a reliable third linebacker if Elliss or Spillane misses time. Britt's made a bit of a push here after having a slower start to camp.

- NCB Marcus Jones was terrific with two interceptions on Thursday; one was a tip-drill and the other was a toe-tapping pick where he drove the flat to jump in front of WR Dontayvion Wicks near the front pylon. Jones also drove on an underneath route over the middle to make a diving PBU on day one. He was a thorn in Hurts's side in both sessions and was around the ball a ton – a good week for the Pats top nickel corner.

- CB Carlton Davis III practiced in full during the joint practices and was a bit inconsistent at the catch point. Davis seemed to be in position to make plays on the ball a few times but couldn't deflect the pass. That said, the 29-year-old has played a lot of football and knows how to ramp himself up for the season. My guess is Davis will eventually prevent those completions.

- The Patriots CB depth is another area of potential concern as the team rotates through different options to find one that sticks while Gonzalez isn't practicing. CB Charles Woods has had some struggles since returning to practice earlier this week. CB Kindle Vildor had an interception to end Wednesday's session that earned him some first-team reps on day two. But Hurts went at Vildor for two completions in the final team period, including a touchdown to WR Hollywood Brown. Rookie CB Karon Prunty put out good preseason tape last week and CB Marcellas Dial Jr. even got a look. The depth CBs all had ups and downs.

- S Craig Woodson didn't participate in team drills during Thursday's session but was around the ball a ton on Wednesday. Woodson had two picks on day one, a run stuff, and logged a pressure on a blitz in the two-minute drill. He has been flying around the field and around the football similarly to his playoff performance in 2025. There's reason to believe that Woodson is about to break out in year two.

- S Kevin Byard logged a pass breakup on a dig route intended for TE Dallas Goedert and logged a couple of pressures as a blitzer. But he was beat over the top when he couldn't break up a deep post to WR Elijah Moore that was a big play for the Eagles on day one. Byard showed good recovery speed and tracked the deep ball but Moore finished through contact at the catch point. It's rare to see Byard lose a battle like that.

- Safeties John Saunders Jr. and Dell Pettus seem to be trending toward making the roster as they each got a crack at filling in for Woodson on Thursday. All Saunders does is pick off passes, getting another practice interception on Wednesday when he read Eagles backup QB Cole Payton like a book on a throw over the middle. Pettus is the more physical player. He can play in the box or as a nickel/dime-backer and on special teams. If you want a safety to come downhill to fill the B-Gap, Pettus is your guy. But this Pats regime has gravitated toward the rangy safeties who can play deep and cover tight ends/slot receivers, which is more Saunders's bag. Saunders fits their prototype at the position to a tee. Don't sleep on him.

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