Christian Elliss sees Patriots’ run defense building its identity

Nearing the end of the frame, Vrabel called a timeout to speak with his defense on the sideline.

"I saw [expletive] defense, and I wanted to talk to them, and I figured that if I did not call a timeout, I would not be able to get what I wanted to say off my chest," Vrabel said after the game.

One evident flaw leading up to the contest was the Patriots' run defense, which struggled to contain the Philadelphia running backs in the first joint practice with the Eagles on Wednesday.