FOXBORO - Undisciplined Eagles? Pretty much.
During a sloppy and torturous game, the Eagles committed 22 penalties (16 were accepted by New England), yet escaped with a 27-17 win thanks in part to the fact New England played the back half of its roster.
Twice on a New England touchdown drive, Philly drew third down penalties wiping out a pick and a sack.
But all the lack of control on the field paled in comparison to a sideline confrontation between head coach Andy Reid and defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins. The two went nose-to-mustache during the first half in a scene that seemed very uncomfortable.
Former Eagle Ike Reese tweeted about the dustup, saying, "That's NOT a good sign, I've never seen Andy Reid disrespected like that by one of his players. This guy(97) is SUPPOSED to be a LEADER."
After the game, both men dismissed it as heat-of-the-moment intensity bubbling over.
"It's an emotional game," said Reid. "He was fired up; I was fired up. Those things happen. Cullen's my primary leader on the defensive line so I count on him for a lot of things. He was upset; I was upset. We talked about it afterwards and we are OK."
New England Patriots
"It's football," said Jenkins. "Football causes that. If you're out there playing, you've got to be emotional. ... It's an emotional game and sometimes you need that spark and especially now in the preseason."
How will this impact the Eagles over the long haul? Probably not that much. It's a veteran team that had a flat night against the Patriots' second-string. Things got pushed to the edge and then were talked away. There will likely be no more sideline rancor.
Or nights when 22 flags fly. But on this night, it happened. And it was a strange sight to see unfold.