Patriots-Eagles Joint Practice Takeaways: Mixed Day For Cam Newton, Mac Jones
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots kicked off joint practices with the Eagles on Monday, an important part of the training camp process. These joint sessions are always a welcome sight for players, giving them a chance to line up against a different set of players -- and hit someone other than their teammates.
It was a mixed bag for the Patriots on Monday, as the Eagles outplayed them in just about every facet of the game. Here are some of the observations from Monday's session.
Mixed Day For Patriots Quarterbacks
Both Patriots passers had up-and-down days on Monday, though it looks like Mac Jones had a slight edge over Cam Newton. That's likely because Cam went against Philly's starters while Jones saw his action against backups.
Newton broke a golden rule though and turned the ball over in the red area. He finished a two-minute drill with a pick in the end zone, which is not ideal for Cam or the New England offense.
Cam Newton picked off by Eric Wilson in the end zone to end a 2-minute drill. Forced a ball over the middle when he had Nelson Agholor wide open in the corner.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) August 16, 2021
Newton said that interception came when he was trying to give his teammate a chance at the end of the session.
"It was third down, we were down by four, and it was a chance. Rather than taking a sack you have to take chances, and that's what it was, a chance in the end zone," said Newton. "I know our job is to take care of the football, but given the circumstances of the play with seven seconds left, I was trying to give my guy a chance."
Newton took all of New England's snaps with the first team on Monday.
Cam Newton was 13 of 21 with an interception in the first joint practice with the Eagles. He took all first-team reps against the starting defense.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) August 16, 2021
Mac Jones was very sharp and 17 of 25 but largely worked against the backup defense.
Neither Patriot quarterback was impressive for long stretches vs. Eagles. Couple plays here and there but mostly C- Cam Newton got more of the work and was with the 1s. He threw a hellacious pick in 11 on 11 at back of the end zone from about the 5. Jones scuffled plenty as well
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) August 16, 2021
Practice ends with Mac Jones finding N'Keal Harry for a TD on a nice throw and catch down the left sideline. But overall, seemed like a challenging day for Jones, Cam Newton and the overall passing game. Newton's end-zone INT ended arguably his best stretch of work.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 16, 2021
Mac & Algholor Have Something Good Going
One of Mac's completions in 11-on-11s was a deep pass to former Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor. The duo also hooked up for a long touchdown in 7-on-7s.
Strong connection between Mac Jones and Nelson Agholor so far today. Jones hit the ex-Eagle deep on his first pass of 11-on-11s, then found him for a long TD in 7-on-7s.
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 16, 2021
Jones was 5-for-6 overall in 7s with a Jakobi Meyers drop.
Cam Newton 4-for-6 with two PBUs by the same LB
Judon Pick-Sixes Hurts
Matt Judon brings it every day, and Monday was no different. He picked off Jalen Hurts and took it to the house for a pick-six, celebrating with a somersault into the end zone.
Good thing he got that out of his system now. That kind of celebration could earn Judon a penalty during the regular season in the No Fun League.
Chase Back On The Field
Chase Winovich was on the field for the first time this summer. Now it will be interesting to see if he gets on the field in Thursday night's preseason game -- and how he looks if he does play in the tilt.
Chase Winovich makes his #Patriots training camp debut. The flow is in midseason form! pic.twitter.com/srJlxASdmt
— The Camera Guys (@NBCSCameraGuys) August 16, 2021
The Patriots will have another joint practice session with the Eagles on Tuesday before the two teams square off in preseason game No. 2 on Thursday night.