FWIW, the Falcons defense had become quite decent by the end of their season. And also, that game was outdoors; yesterday's was not. The Vikings game was outdoors as well, of course, but I've come to the conclusion that the Eagles offense may have been pretty damn good...and maybe, just maybe, their system helped make both Foles and Wentz look better than they are in a vacuum. (Just as Year 2 of Shanahan's system in Atlanta made Ryan look outstanding last year, and many other OCs have done for their QBs down the years.)
Not sure if you follow Cian Fahey on twitter but he was beating this drum long before Wentz got hurt. He watches a lot of film and writes an annual publication on QBs. Pretty much all season he argued that Wentz is the same guy he was last season but that his supporting cast was much, much better this season and that was really the difference in his play.
Foles made some great throws yesterday but most of his success was due to a great scheme creating wide open receivers and an offensive line that gave him all the time in the world (Pats weak pass rush didn't hurt his cause either).
Anyways, the goat has to be Matt Patricia. Defense had no answers all night long.
Their calling card throughout the season, and really throughout Patricia's tenure as DC, was that they may give up yards but they'll get the stops and make the plays when they need to. Third down, red zone, fourth down.... they were awful in these situations all night long.
No sacks and a non-existent pass rush. (Where was Wise? Adam Butler?)
The one turnover was more of a fluky tipped ball than something they caused.
Didn't seem to make any notable adjustments besides switching Gilmore onto Jefferey. Which is hard to give them too much credit for considering just about everyone expected them to match-up Gilmore with Jefferey from the start, since that seemed to obviously be the best use of Gilmore's talents.
And even after all of that, the biggest let down for me was that the defense just could not play any complimentary football to help out the offense. Actually, I take that back. They did twice: after the botched field goal, they forced a 3-and-out and an Eagles punt (the only punt of the game). And after the strip sack on Brady, they forced another 3-and-out and a FG to keep it a game. That's it. (And those were the only times either offense went 3-and-out.)
Pats kick a FG to tie it at 3-3? Defense promptly gives up 77 yards on 3 plays for a TD.
Pats turn it over on downs? Defense then gives up a 6 play, 65 yard TD drive, including a big 3rd-and-7 conversion.
Pats score before the 2 minute warning to make a it 15-12 game and what does the defense do? Give up a 55 yard pass on a 3rd down wheel route, then a 4th down trick play TD pass to the QB. 70 yards in a minute and half and now it's back to a 10 point halftime lead.
Pats get a much needed TD drive right after halftime and how does the defense respond? By giving up an 11 play, 85 yard TD drive that included three 3rd down conversions.
Pats finally take the lead in the 4th quarter and the defense proceeds to let the Eagles chew up 7 minutes on a mammoth 75 yard drive that included a 4th down conversion and another 3rd down TD (the Eagles' last three touchdowns were all either on 3rd down or 4th down).
Time and time again, Brady and the offense kept this team afloat and valiantly tried to carry them to the finish line. Time and time again, the defense simply could not hold up their end of the bargain. I don't think you can point the finger at one player on defense, or even one specific unit on defense. You have to start with the coaching.
I really hate to say this but Matty P leaving for Detroit is probably a good thing for the Patriots. Yeah, the talent hasn't really been there and they've been hit with a lot of injuries. But it's hard to look at the way this defense has played under Patricia and say that he's been overly successful.
Not that DVOA is the be all, end all, but here is where the Pats' defense has ranked since 2010, when Patricia basically became the de facto DC (officially it wasn't until 2012):
2010 - 21st
2011 - 30th
2012 - 15th
2013 - 20th
2014 - 12th
2015 - 12th
2016 - 16th
2017 - 31st
Mediocre, at best.