The All Blacks put the USA to the sword 104-14 Saturday at FedEx Field, the home of the Washington DC NFL franchise, and made it plain how good the New Zealand team is, and how far the USA has to go.

The Eagles had their moments, and scoring two tries against one of the world's best teams is certainly something to hang your hat on, but the game belonged to the All Blacks, who scored in the first half-minute. Luke Jacobsen did the honors in that one, although the Kiwis were a bit lucky as Mike Kruse tripped over the previous tackle, leaving George Bridge free to keep the play going.  

After that they just played the game at a faster pace (something Eagles captain Bryce Campbell had warned about) not only in terms of foot speed but in terms of passing and decision-making.

They were a little lucky on the second try too but you make your own luck by being prepared, and then Will Jordan torched the Eagles with a kick-and-chase.

The Eagles couldn't afford to slip off tackles and when they did a New Zealander was off on his horse and had three riders next to him. The USA cover defense was too slow.

Two tries did come the USA's way. Campbell charged ahead to set up a good platform, and then Nate Augspurger raced through a gap next to the ruck before wrong-footing Damian McKenzie for a really nice individual effort. That was the first try the USA had ever scored against New Zealand, counting their 51-3 loss in 1913, 46-6 in the 1991 RWC, and their 74-6 loss in 2014. 

"Nate's a guy who works so hard," said Campbell after the game. "You see it out there, he's everywhere. I'm just so proud of him for finding it and finishing it." 

And in the second half after some good phases and pressure, and then a penalty, Augspurger quick-tapped, New Zealand weren't back ten, and quick hands found the always aggressive Ryan Matyas on the wing. He had some work to do and was tackled short of the line (as his shorts were pulled down), but managed to ground it, and the TMO found no evidence he had go into touch.

It was just reward and made it 73-14. But the thing about a team like the USA is that they aren't a fully-together unit. Even playing as much as they have this summer, the lineup and the assemblies are not consistent like they are for a team like the All Blacks. So, the effort required to get into position, and cover tackles and cover for mistakes is all the greater. By the end of the game they had been chasing the All Blacks all over the field, and five more tries just rolled in.

USA 14
Tries: Augspurger, Matyas
Convs: Carty 2

New Zealand 104
Tries: Jacobson 2, de Groot, Jordan 3, McKenzie, Ta'avao 2, Mo'unga, Tupaea, Papalii, Lienert-Brown, Barrett, Coles, Perenara
Convs: Mo'unga 9, McKenzie 3
 

This was not a massively experienced USA team. All of the overseas-based players were absent because this game was played outside the test match window, and those overseas clubs didn't need to release those players.

Ryan James, Faka’osi Pifeleti, and Chad Gough all received their first caps. The overall caps total for the USA starting lineup was 303, for New Zealand 284, but with the bench it was 30 vs 394.

"When you play the best attacking team in the world, that's what's going to happen for 80 minutes," said USA Head Coach Gary Gold, who added that the game film will be useful to see things they can fix but also positives. "I choose to be a person that will look for the good in what we've done and we'll take a little bit of encouragement from those small passages of play where we were able to put some pressure on them and ultimately score a couple of tries."

But, a 90-point loss, "I don't want to do anything but credit the All Blacks for the quality team that they are. It's a very tough lesson but it is a lesson and we will learn from it."

The young players will reflect on this, Gold added, and can grow from it. In the end, what he did want was effort.

"I just don't think our guys gave up, and that's all you can ask," said Gold. "I've honestly been in teams before where the scoreline isn't as dramatic as this and I've seen guys' heads go down. I didn't see that with our guys."

Bryce Campbell also wanted to see some positives. 

"Those are the moments in the game that we look at; what did we do in these instances to create those opportunities, and can we do to create more," said the captain. "And ... what happened on those passages where it didn't go our way, where they were making massive breaks, and how we can flip the script ... What was really exciting was when we were very direct, carried hard, were early-in in our cleans; we either forced them to give away a penalty or got go-forward."

They didn't capitalize on all of those—three times they had an attacking lineout off a penalty and muffed it—but they kept fighting, said Campbell, whose job in terms of keeping the players positive had to have been a tough one.

"I'm devastated by the result," said Gold, who said he didn't expect it was going to ba 100-point game. "I didn't think it was going to be that bad but in saying that I know how good the All Blacks were. I just know how hard the guys worked and I'm absolutely devastated for the guys."

"When we make mistakes, they capitalize," said Campbell. "When we are off by a hair they find it. We're not there yet, and this is part of our journey. Games like this are harsh lessons but they are lessons, like Gary said. We just try to make our fans proud."Some players still played well, said Gold. Campbell and Tavite Lopeti came in for praise from the coach, but, he said, "those are going to be lost in the scoreline."

They will take encouragement from scoring two tries. And having those fans come to FedEx Field means a lot, added Campbell.

"it shows that we've got people that back us, people that care, and we need to do our best to make those people proud and keep filling stadiums like this."