Morning sports update: What Jason McCourty had to say after giving up a touchdown in his Patriots debut
"I’ve just got to make that play, got to do better."
In a low-stakes Super Bowl XLII rematch, the Patriots beat the Eagles 37-20 for their second victory of the preseason. Tom Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday night.
What Jason McCourty had to say after giving up a touchdown in his Patriots debut
Thursday night marked the first time Jason and Devin McCourty played together since their days at Rutgers a decade ago. Jason, who was making his Patriots debut, said it was a “great feeling” running off the Gillette Stadium turf with his twin — and the ride to the field isn’t so bad, either.
“It is great to have our connection and be so close,” McCourty said, per NESN. “He even is my Uber driver to the games, as well, which works out pretty well.”
The cornerback could have used four wheels and an engine midway through the second quarter as he tried to catch up to Eagles wide receiver Shelton Gibson. Philadelphia was facing third-and-goal from the 4 yard line when Gibson cut his slant route short and faded into the corner of the end zone. McCourty bit hard on the initial slant and couldn’t scramble back in time to stop Nate Sudfield from finding Gibson for the score.
.@NateSudfeld finds Shelton Gibson for the @Eagles TD! #FlyEaglesFly #PHIvsNE https://t.co/4qXzXD2mnI
— NFL (@NFL) August 17, 2018
“I’ve just got to make that play, got to do better,” he said. “[Gibson] ran an inside move, I broke hard to it. Just got to do a better job of staying on my man and being able to get a hand in there to try to make a play.”
McCourty did not start on Thursday night — one week after sitting out the preseason opener against the Redskins — but took over for Eric Rowe after the Patriots’ first defensive series. He was targeted twice and allowed one reception, Gibson’s touchdown.
The Patriots acquired the 31-year-old in a trade with Cleveland in March. McCourty is locked in a battle with Rowe for the No. 2 cornerback slot opposite Stephon Gilmore.
25 thoughts from the Patriots’ preseason win over the Eagles: Chad Finn has some thoughts on why Tom Brady needed to play against the Eagles, Cordarrelle Patterson’s bewildering career, and Jason McCourty’s chances of making the final roster. (Boston.com)
5 takeaways from the Patriots’ preseason win over the Eagles: The latest outing for the Patriots showed that Brady’s back orchestrating with efficiency, James White will be a major part of the New England offense this season, and the cornerback position could be a question mark. (Boston.com)
Tom Brady addresses missed handshake with Nick Foles: The quarterbacks never shook hands following Super Bowl LII, but made up for that missed connection with a postgame meeting Thursday. Brady said the perceived snub was a non-story.
“I know that was kind of made up to me because that was never my intention that I would, you know, be a bad sport,” he said. (Boston.com)
Daily highlight:
https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1030270026282987520
