FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – At the top of Head Coach Nick Sirianni's Core Values list is CONNECT. In every way. On the field and off the field. Most of the time, those two intersect, and Sirianni has spent much of his three-plus seasons with the Eagles developing ways to have his team build a bond to last through February.

What the Eagles are doing now, spending three nights in the middle of Massachusetts ahead of Thursday's preseason game against the New England Patriots, goes a long way toward cementing those relationships. Back in the 2022 season, the Eagles had preseason joint practices in Miami and Cleveland, spending nearly two weeks away – together – from the NovaCare Complex and they were off to a Super Bowl appearance that year.

Here they are now, a 91-man roster (including international player, offensive tackle Laekin Vakalahi) finished their joint work with New England and fully engaged on Thursday's game. There is a heavy meeting schedule at the team hotel, meals in the hotel restaurant, and a lot of free time for the players to get into their playbooks and to, well, play.

Not out on the town, mind you, because there is no town here. They are playing Pop-A-Shot and table tennis and hanging in the team-only areas learning more about each other and furthering their connections.

And building trust.

How much all of this will pay off remains to be seen. The Eagles are very much focused on the moment and the moment is reviewing their performance against the Patriots and moving on to the second of three preseason games. In just 10 days, it's all over. The preseason melts into the opener in Brazil against Green Bay with a roster of 70 men between the active roster and practice squad. There is a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking.

"We competed at a high level. Going against another team, you want to see how you measure up," wide receiver A.J. Brown said. "I think we did well. There are always things to clean up and get better at, but I think we're moving in the right direction."

Everything was organized at practice – there were four scrimmage areas on the two full practice fields. The stands were packed – overflow with a very, very large contingent, unsurprisingly, of Eagles fans. The tempo was great and, very obviously, the Eagles enjoyed practicing against another team as both teams kept it simple in terms of scheme.

This is all about putting together the best roster for September and beyond.

"The job is still to execute and to do really well regardless of who we're playing and who we are practicing against," Brown said. "I think we did that pretty well."

Said defensive end Brandon Graham: "Defensively, we tried to bring the energy. Today was a good day with everybody. Good energy both sides of the ball."

There were plenty of memorable moments – a connection from quarterback Jalen Hurts to running back Saquon Barkley running a wheel route that finished in the end zone, some well-timed sacks from Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr., physical play from the front seven against the run, a lot of work on kickoffs with the understanding that there is a bunch to still get down on the new play.

And when it was over, the players hustled off to the locker room, showered, and jumped on the buses to head back to the hotel for lunch, some rest, meetings, and more. Then, some bonding time and sleep with a walkthrough and game preparations ahead on Wednesday.

"You learn that everything we're doing means something," rookie running back Will Shipley said. "Everyone is helpful and everyone is competing. I love the culture we have."

It is an intangible benefit, all the time spent together, but it pays off. We saw it in 2022, what it meant for the team to go through those two weeks and build something special. Maybe this week will have the same impact.

We can only hope that's the case. On the field, the Eagles are working on Competing, their Accountability, their Football IQ, and their Fundamentals, the other four Core Values that Sirianni emphasizes every day.

A large piece is the CONNECT part, something three nights and a fourth very long day helps create for everyone who has a say in the team's success ahead.