Best Plays
5. Danny Amendola completes a 36 yard pass to Tom Brady on 3rd and 3 (+3.25 EPA). How awesome was this play, only to be followed by such crushing disappointment? It's quite unfortunate that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had to open up this play against the Eagles, but it was certainly one of the most fun plays to watch.
4. Jamie Collins forces a fumble on 3rd and 5 from the Patriots on 28 yard line with 1:13 left in the game (+3.42 EPA). Collins came back in a big way with a huge forced turnover. If the Eagles held on to the ball, they could have either kicked the field goal, or drained an extra 40 seconds off of the clock. Collins let the offense have one more chance to literally drop the ball.
3. Tom Brady completes a 24 yard pass to James White on 3rd and 2 to the Eagles goal line (+3.77 EPA). This was a another amazing play immediately followed by a heartbreaking pick six, but White certainly flashed why he deserves more opportunities on the field.
2. Defensive pass interference called on Eagles safety Malcom Jenkins in coverage of Keshawn Martin for 42 yards (+3.79 EPA). It's always sad when Flacco'ing a team ranks so highly, but this was a penalty worth nearly half of the field with the Patriots up by 7 in the 2nd quarter.
1. Tom Brady completes a 25 yard pass to James White on 4th and 12 in the 4th quarter (+3.98 EPA).
Easy way to get into Brady's circle of trust: do what he says. QB points at White to go to open field on 4th. pic.twitter.com/an7nnncNCx
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) December 7, 2015
Worst Plays
5. Sam Bradford converts a 5 yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz on 3rd and 4 in the 2nd quarter (-2.56 EPA). This followed the bizarre Nate Ebner drop kick. Devin McCourty tripped while in coverage of Ertz, leaving the tight end wide open for the easy score.
4. Tom Brady is intercepted by Byron Maxwell in the end zone on an attempt to Brandon LaFell (-3.26 EPA). Brady tried to take the blame for this play by saying he was throwing the ball away, but it's very clear that LaFell stemmed his route to the sideline when Brady was expecting the receiver to continue down the field and split the coverage.
3. Darren Sproles returns a punt 83 yards for the touchdown (-6.09 EPA). This cracked the game open against the Patriots as the Eagles continued to take advantage of poor plays by the New England offense and special teams.
2. Chris Maragos blocks a Ryan Allen punt and returns it 24 yards for a touchdown before the half (-6.15 EPA). This was literally the only thing the Patriots couldn't afford to let happen with just 15 seconds left in the half and the punt protection let a defender get a free lane at Allen.
1. Tom Brady is intercepted by Malcolm Jenkins at the goal line, and Jenkins returns it 99 yards for the touchdown (-11.26 EPA). Awful. Awful. Awful. The Patriots were expected to score a touchdown on the play, but instead they gave the ball to the opposition. This play deserves far more attention than any drop kick by Nate Ebner.