It sure looks like the Patriots can run with the best of them, and other thoughts on preseason win over Eagles

COMMENTARY

Seven thoughts on the Patriots’ 35-0 preseason win over the Eagles …

• The NFL single-season record for rushing yards by one team is 3,165 set by your 1978 New Eng … ah, wait, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens broke that two years ago, didn’t they? Indeed they did, running for 3,296 yards, breaking the 41-year-old record set by Sam Cunningham, Horace Ivory, and the fleet of speedy vehicles that followed road-grader John Hannah’s lead.

I bring this up not because I expect the 2021 Patriots to reclaim that very cool record for the franchise, but for a positive reason nevertheless. Depending on the outcome of some difficult roster decisions, this year’s Patriots might – might – have their deepest and most versatile running attack since that season.

• The Patriots ran for 207 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries against the Eagles. We can’t make too much of that since the Eagles played without several defensive starters, including defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, linebacker Brandon Graham, and cornerback Darius Slay. But that shouldn’t diminish the impressive showing of diverse skills that Damien Harris, Sony Michel, Rhamondre Stevenson, and J.J. Taylor displayed. (I’m excluding James White, Super Bowl hero and known quantity, who had a pair of catches but no rushing attempts.) Given the depth and quality of the backfield and the Patriots’ offensive line, this ought to be an exceptional running team.

• Harris, who broke out last year and looks primed for a monster third NFL season, scored the first touchdown Thursday on a 5-yard run. Michel, who averaged 5.7 yards per carry last season, is suddenly showing some semblance of pass-catching skill that hasn’t been evident since he was at Georgia. And rookie Stevenson (66 yards, 2 TDs), a brute of a runner with stunningly quick feet, and second-year jitterbug Taylor (93 yards, TD) have a thunder and lightning thing going that ought to translate to valuable contributions during the regular season when their chance comes. I’m not saying this group will match the feats of the feet of the ‘78 squad. But they’re going to set the tone on many Sundays.

• That team had a darned good running quarterback in Steve Grogan, of course. There’s a pretty good chance this one will as well. If Cam Newton plays well in preseason, and doesn’t leave an opening for rookie Mac Jones to seize the job, he’s going to be the starting quarterback in Week 1 for the Patriots. Newton played very well in his one quarter of action Thursday. He threw with conviction and confidence, completing 8 of 9 passes for 103 yards and one dart of a touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers. It’s probably the best he’s looked as a Patriot, including in Week 3 against the Seahawks last season. Newton threw more strikes Thursday night than the entire Red Sox bullpen in August.

• So this is what it must have been like to have Joe Montana and Steve Young on the same roster. Oh, I’m kidding, but Jones was impressive for the second straight week, and handled some challenges that had a high-degree of difficulty. In his first series, which started the second quarter, he led the Patriots on a 17-play, 100-yard touchdown drive, one that included lousy field position and a couple of penalties that needed to be overcome. Jones had some hiccups – Josh McDaniels had a vein or two popping out of his forehead when the rookie quarterback mismanaged the two-minute drill before halftime – but overall he continued to look as advanced as any first-year QB coach Bill Belichick has ever had on the roster.

• Newton unleashed several high-velocity passes – there’s no doubt his arm strength is better this year – but it was Jones who made the throw of the game, stepping up in the pocket, turning his torso to dodge a rusher, and firing a strike to Gunner Olszewski for 21 yards on the first possession of the third quarter. Fine, I’ll say it. It reminded me of Tom Brady and I’m not going to apologize for that. For the second straight week, Jones also threw a perfect deep ball that fell incomplete for the second straight week, this time in the final minute of the first half to N’Keal Harry. Jones isn’t going to play right away unless Newton turns into Craig Whelihan over the next two weeks, but it’s clear he can play.

• Poor N’Keal Harry. I was among those howling last season that he needs to restart somewhere else and it’s not working here. It seemed like he felt the same way when his agent requested a trade before training camp. But there have been encouraging signs this summer, including reports of strong practices against the Eagles this week that carried over to the game: he had a 19-yard grab on third-and-13 in the first half Thursday. Unfortunately, there was no second half for him. On the Jones deep ball just before halftime, he jumped unnecessarily, came down on his shoulder, and injured himself badly enough that he had to leave the stadium with his arm in a sling. If he didn’t have bad luck …