Eagles football is back!

Nick Sirianni and company opened the season with a 25-20 win in New England against Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Strong play from the defense – which had a touchdown, forced fumble and recovery, and two sacks – proved to be the difference in sloppy weather conditions in the season opener.

"Anytime you create two turnovers that lead to 14 points, that's big time," Sirianni said. "That is the difference in the game."

Here is how it happened:

First Quarter:

• Field Goal! Jake Elliott nailed a 32-yard kick to finish off the opening drive. It was the Kenneth Gainwell drive as he tallied 43 total scrimmage yards, including a 16-yard gain. The Patriots' defense stopped the Eagles on 3rd-and-goal from the New England 6-yard line. (Eagles 3, Patriots 0)
• PICK SIX! Darius "Big Play" Slay found the end zone on a 70-yard score! Heads-up play from the veteran who grabbed the deflected pass out of the air and took it to the house. Milton Williams provided the blocking all the way down the field. Jake Elliott's extra point was good! (Eagles 10, Patriots 0)
• "I saw that thing and said, 'Oh it is tipped, yes sir, let me go get that,'" Slay said. "When I saw that green grass, I knew I was going to get into the end zone, for sure. I have the speed of Speedy Gonzales."
• "Slay has a great knack to get the ball and finish plays like that," Sirianni said.

• FUMBLE! Zach Cunningham recovered the loose ball after Jordan Davis forced the fumble out of the hands of Ezekiel Elliott. The Eagles got the ball on the New England 26-yard line.

• TOUCHDOWN! DeVonta Smith caught the first touchdown pass of the year. Jalen Hurts rolled right and found his target in the front corner of the end zone. The 5-yard score had the Birds rolling! However, Jake Elliott missed the extra point wide right. (Eagles 16, Patriots 0)

Second Quarter

• Welcome to the NFL, Sydney Brown! The third-round pick took down Marcus Jones with a huge hit on Arryn Siposs' 45-yard punt. Jones lost a yard on the return.
• Elevated from the practice squad for the game, Siposs saw consistent action. His longest punt of the day went 54 yards and was capped off by another huge hit, this time from Josh Jobe.
• The Patriots found the end zone for their first touchdown of the season. Hunter Henry capped off a 71-yard drive with a 9-yard score. Mac Jones found the tight end in the back of the end zone. (Eagles 16, Patriots 7)
• The Patriots were rolling to end the second quarter. Kendrick Bourne was found by Jones in the middle of the end zone for a 19-yard score. Jones had completed his last 10 passes, bouncing back from an early interception. (Eagles 16, Patriots 14)

Third Quarter

• Field Goal! Jake Elliott drilled a 56-yard field goal! A holding penalty halted a promising drive, but Elliott made sure that the Eagles' came away with points. (Eagles 19, Patriots 14)
• After the Patriots made their way into field goal range, two offensive holding penalties forced the hosts to punt.

Fourth Quarter

• Field Goal! Jake Elliott was at it again with a 48-yard field goal! The kicker doinked a field goal off the right upright and through. As close as he could get! (Eagles 22, Patriots 14)
• "Jake Elliott did a really good job," Sirianni said. "We have a lot of confidence in Jake to kick the field goals to put us up a couple scores."
• "It's easy for us to grow and always better when you win and so give a lot of credit to Jake Elliott," Hurts said. "I don't like him kicking. But you know, he showed up and he made big-time, big-time plays all night for us. That was huge."

• DEFENSE! A stop on fourth down by the Eagles' defense! On 4th-and-3, Haason Reddick and Fletcher Cox applied pressure and forced Jones into an incompletion. Philadelphia took over on downs at its own 17-yard line.
• Field Goal! Jake Elliott went 4/4 on field goals and 2/2 from beyond 50 yards today. He drilled a 51-yarder right down Broad Street. This gave the Eagles a two-possession lead! (Eagles 25, Patriots 14)
• "It is fun to be able to go out there and earn it," Elliott said. "I love having all of those opportunities. That is what I prepare for."

• Kendrick Bourne had his second touchdown of the game for New England. An 11-yard pass from Jones found the receiver in the back of the end zone. After a penalty on the Patriots, a long two-point attempt was unsuccessful, broken up by Zach Cunningham. (Eagles 25, Patriots 20)
• Hurts fumbled on the first play of a drive that could have been the final one of the day. The ball was knocked loose by Jabrill Peppers on a hard hit. The Patriots took over in Philadelphia territory.
• SACK! Josh Sweat took down Jones for the Eagles' first sack of the game.
• DEFENSE! The Eagles made a stand on fourth down! An incompletion from Jones on 4th-and-17 gave Philadelphia the ball back just seconds before the two-minute warning.
• The Eagles went for it on 4th-and-2 from midfield and did not get it, handing the ball back to Jones and his offense in great field position.
• SACK! Jalen Carter recorded his first solo sack of his NFL career, pushing the Patriots' offense back!

• DEFENSE! A game-winning stop by the Eagles' defense. Josh Jobe pushed Kayshon Boutte out of bounds before he could get two feet in on the Patriots' fourth-down play.
• Hurts took a knee to end the game and give the Birds a 1-0 start on the season!
• "I think that is a great win for us," Hurts said. "Being able to be resilient. To me, winning is the only thing that matters. That is the mentality right now. That will always be the mentality. We have things that we need to work. I have to be better in those situations when the ball is in my hands. Good thing about it is, we get an opportunity to play on Thursday."

EAGLES WIN! 25-20!

Key Stats:

Offense

QB Jalen Hurts: 22-33, 170 Yds, 1 TD (9 Att, 37 yards)

RB Kenneth Gainwell: 14 Att, 54 Yds (4 Rec, 20 Yds)

WR A.J. Brown: 7 Rec, 79 Yds

WR DeVonta Smith: 7 Rec, 47 Yds, 1 TD

Defense

S Reed Blankenship: 11 TKLs, 2 PDs

S Justin Evans: 7 TKLs

CB Avonte Maddox: 6 TKLs, 1 TFL, 2 PDs

DL Jordan Davis: 6 TKLs, 0.5 SK, 1 QBH, 1 TFL, 1 FF

DE Josh Sweat: 2 TKLs, 0.5 SK, 1 QBH, 1 PD

DL Jalen Carter: 1 TKL, 1 SK, 1 QBH, 1 TFL

Special Teams

K Jake Elliott: 4/4 FG, 1/2 XP, 13 PTS

P Arryn Siposs: 4 P, 197 Yds, 49.3 AVG, 54 LG

– Written by Owen Boyle