Note: This is the official 2nd half game thread.

vs.

14 - 14

NFL Preseason Week 2

New England Patriots (1-0) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)

First half notes:

• Sloppy half overall. Two fumbles for the Patriots and a ton of costly penalties committed by the Eagles. It goes without saying, but this is the preseason. Both teams have a lot to work on.
• Up and down performance from Ryan Mallett. He made a couple of nice throws, led a field goal and touchdown drive, but also had a couple of errant passes and poor decisions (had an interception called back due to a roughing the passer). An improvement from last week, but he still has a way to go.
• Three defenders that stood out for the Patriots: Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, and Ron Brace. Cunningham knocked Eagles quarterback Michael Vick out of the game with a bruising hit to Vick's abdomen. Spikes was all over the field making tackles and preventing YAC. Ron Brace came up with a nice should-have-been-sack on Nick Foles. Beat his man up the middle, then shed the tackle to make the hit.
• More struggles from the Patriots book-ends, Marcus Cannon and Nate Solder. You can't help but wonder if Cannon would be better off at right guard. As for Solder, perhaps the right tackle spot is the better fit. Lets not forget, Sebastian Vollmer made a pretty darn good left tackle when he was healthy. Also on the line, center/guard Nick McDonald had some serious struggles.
• On offense, it was nice to see Deion Branch show up on a couple of occasions, including one where he ran a tremendous route to beat Nnamdi Asomogha. His main competition for a roster spot, Donte Stallworth, didn't show up much - aside from a late half first down catch.
• It's really clear that Brian Hoyer is still strides ahead of Ryan Mallett. He just has so much more confidence and poise in the pocket.
• Awesome to see Nate Ebner come up with an interception to close out the first half. He was a bit up and down (overcommitted on LeSean McCoy touchdown run), but making that play should help his confidence in his pro transition.
• Injury watch: Safety Patrick Chung left the game early with a shoulder/arm injury. Tough to know the diagnosis on it now, but the Patriots would be in a really tough spot if Chung were to miss significant time.