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Every Wednesday during the NFL season, Kru’s Control will offer readers a pre-port. A pre-port is a first cousin to a pre-diction, but it’s not just a guess about the score of Sunday’s Patriots game, it is a full-length report about the game—before it ever happens—as if it had already happened. Think of having a time traveler come back each week to let you know the story of the game several days before the game is ever played.
Pre-ports are more fun to write than regular game stories. Regular stories limit the writer to the facts. The only limits of a pre-port are the writer’s imagination and wit. Right or wrong, near or far from the actual result, pre-ports allow us to imagine any outcome we prefer. So enjoy. This is what happened in next Sunday’s game…
Patriots Win over Eagles Features Brotherly Love
Philadelphia, known as the City of Brotherly Love, certainly let the familial affection flow–twice–for the McCourty twins in yesterday’s Patriots 28-20 win.
Brother-loving play #1 happened with just a few ticks on the clock at the end of the first quarter. With the Eagles on the Pats 6 yard line, Jason (he’s the one with #30 on his back) cut in front of an out route by Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery at the goal line. With the ball and McCourty arriving at the same moment, the pigskin flew up in the air as it took a 90 degree turn, landing in the arms of brother Devin (we can tell them apart because he’s #32). Devin took off down the sideline, run down finally at the Eagles 15. Two plays later, we had a touchdown for a Patriots 7-3 lead, Brady to Edelman (who sometimes seem like brothers).
Brother-loving play #2 looked eerily like the play in which JC Jackson ran down Nick Chubb in the Ravens game, except, of course its key players were the two guys who both celebrate their birthdays on August 13. This time, with 4:20 left in the fourth quarter and the outcome a little too close for comfort, Philly tailback Jordan Howard cut through a big hole up the middle, juked Elandon Roberts out of his you-know-what, and headed for the end zone. This time it was #30 who ran him down and took aim at the ever so slightly exposed spheroid, causing a fumble at the Pats 10. Jason, always trying to stay nearby bother Devin, scooped the ball up and brought it back the other way to the Philly 25. This time it took three plays to put the icing on the cake, once again involving faux-brothers Brady and Edelman, to seal the victory.
Oh, yes, a few other things of interest happened.
Sony Michel looked more like himself, gaining 80 yards on only 12 carries.
The Pats put Carson Wentz on his back 5 times, with Jamie Collins once again accounting for another two sacks. Brady was hurried and hit several times, but the Eagles did not record a single sack.
Always the game planning team, the Patriots put the no-huddle back into mothballs, to be trotted out at the proper time for the proper team.
And for once, even the tight ends joined in the fun, with Matt Lacosse and Ryan Izzo each accounting for a pair of catches.
So this was a nice way to put the Ravens game in the rear view mirror against a team that at least pretends to have visions of the playoffs. But most of all, it was a good day for the offspring of Phyllis and Calvin, for the twin terrors known as the McCourty brothers.
