The Eagles left Foxborough with a 24-21 preseason loss to the Patriots, but the bigger story was what happened around the starters who sat this one out.
After two joint practices in New England, the first-stringers were parked on the sideline Saturday night and the backup battle took center stage. Some players took a real step forward. Others made life a little harder on themselves with one game left before the preseason wraps.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. kept making the kind of case that turns heads all summer long. Starting at linebacker, he timed a blitz perfectly for a sack of Tommy DeVito and earlier tracked DeVito down to limit the damage on a scramble. He finished with five tackles and a sack, and the message from camp has not changed: Trotter can play.
Ty Robinson also kept his momentum rolling. Vic Fangio said during the week that Robinson had come to life in the first preseason game, and he backed that up against New England with a run stuff and a quarterback hit in the first quarter before piling up a pair of violent sacks in the second. He looks like a different player than the one who showed up at the start of camp.
The rookie who may have looked the most overpowering was Markel Bell. The big tackle was tossing defenders around while starting at right tackle, and he had stretches where he looked dominant again. Bell did visit the blue medical tent and did not return, but after the game he said he was fine.
The Eagles also got strong work from the rest of the offensive line. Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin helped spring Shipley for a touchdown early in the second quarter, and both were pulled not long after.
That’s a pretty good sign for where they stand, or at least how close they are. It also reflected well on OL coach Chris Kuper and the way his backups were ready to go.
Will Shipley kept flashing too. The third-year back from Clemson ran with power and vision, found creases and kept his legs moving for extra yards.
He finished with 56 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. He’s been productive this preseason, even if he’s sitting behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby on the depth chart.
Darius Cooper answered back after last week’s uncharacteristic drop with his best game of the preseason. His 25-yard catch-and-run was one of the biggest plays of the first half, and he made a linebacker miss before turning it upfield. He ended with three catches for 44 yards.
Carson Steele kept the offense moving when Shipley was off the field. He hurdled Patriots cornerback Brandon Crossley, then later got another hurdle into the end zone. Steele also showed he can catch it out of the backfield and contributed on a big fourth-quarter completion with a solid blitz pickup.
Tanner McKee looked much sharper than he did a week ago, especially compared with Andy Dalton. McKee settled into a rhythm in the new offense late in the first half and early in the second, and he was quick, decisive and far more accurate than he was in the preseason opener.
He didn’t finish as cleanly, but the difference was obvious. Dalton, meanwhile, never really found it.
Joshua Weru added another eye-catching moment with a third-quarter sack on a strong rush. It was only his second-ever football game, but he keeps flashing, and he beat sixth-round pick Dametrious Crownover on the rep by selling a stunt before bending to the edge. Uar Bernard, who had not shown up on the stat sheet in his first football game, chipped in with a couple tackles in the fourth quarter.
Shaun Wade also kept his preseason momentum going with his second straight game forcing a fumble. He jarred the ball loose in the fourth quarter.
Hollywood Brown did not play after appearing in the preseason opener. He had been slow to start training camp, though he did turn in some better practices in New England this week. His one-year deal also includes $5 million in guaranteed money.
Sean Mannion handled play-calling from the booth and appeared to settle into a better rhythm there. It’s still not clear whether that’s the direction he’ll go, but it seemed to help Saturday night.
On the other side of the ledger, Dalton had another rough outing. The throws weren’t clean, and some of them were flat-out ugly.
His longest completion came on Darius Cooper’s catch-and-run, and the offense was at its best while leaning on the run game. Dalton finished 3-for-10 for 44 yards with a passer rating of 45.4, and he nearly threw a pick that was wiped away by a roughing the passer call.
Ambry Thomas had a brutal sequence when he missed a tackle and then gave up a 69-yard touchdown to Kyle Williams down the right sideline. Quez Watkins, who has had a decent camp, had one especially rough series when Dalton went his way on three straight passes and all three fell incomplete, ending in a punt.
Eli Stowers is still waiting to make his mark. The Eagles’ second-round pick was targeted twice and didn’t come down with a catch, and he was out of uniform for the second half, which suggests he may have been banged up.
Mac McWilliams started and made a few tackles before leaving with an apparent injury. He’s on the roster bubble and hasn’t done much to strengthen his case.
Kelee Ringo picked up another penalty, this time for illegal contact in the second quarter. He did have a pass breakup, but it should have been an interception. Michael Jordan, brought in for veteran guard depth, allowed pressure that led to a fourth-down incompletion in the third quarter and looks well behind others on the depth chart.
Johnny Wilson’s situation remains the toughest to watch. After ankle and knee injuries wiped out his entire second season, he returned this summer with a real shot to make the roster as a bigger-bodied receiver. Instead, he landed on the injury list, was waived with an injury designation on Friday and has since reverted to Injured Reserve.
In Other News...
Eagles Run Game Just Lost A Key Piece At The Worst Time
Johnny Wilsons latest setback comes at an awkward time for the Eagles, who were already trying to smooth out the early stages of a run-game transition under a wider zone approach. Wilsons size and willingness to block made him a useful part of that equation, even if his role did not always show up in the box score, and a lingering knee issue has now pushed him off the roster for the moment.
If he clears waivers, Wilson will land on injured reserve, which leaves Philadelphia thinner at receiver and a little less sturdy on the edges where the scheme asks wideouts to help create room. For a team trying to make that physical identity work, losing one of the players built to handle the dirty work is the kind of absence that can ripple beyond a single position group. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Fans May Need To Rethink The Post Stoutland Fear
When Jeff Stoutland moved on, the instinct in Philadelphia was to wonder whether the Eagles offensive line standard might slip even a little. But early preseason action has offered a different look under Chris Kuper, with the backups holding up well, giving up few sacks and showing they can move bodies in the run game. It is a small sample, of course, but it has been enough to ease some of the immediate anxiety that tends to come with any change in that room.
Kupers first summer on the job has had a chance to show up in the details, from OTAs through training camp and into these preseason snaps. The bigger question is still ahead, because preseason reps are not the same as regular-season pressure and the sample remains limited. Still, for a group that Eagles fans naturally watch with a sharper eye than most, the early signs suggest the post-Stoutland transition may not be the concern many expected. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Roster Debate Now Hinges On One More Veteran WR Move
With the Eagles getting down to the final roster questions before the opener, the wide receiver room is once again part of the conversation. One suggestion floating around is a trade idea from a Philly Voice reporter that would send backup quarterback Andy Dalton to the New England Patriots in exchange for Mack Hollins, a familiar name in Philadelphia who has also spent time with several other teams.
Hollins drew attention after a productive season with New England last year, and the appeal is obvious for a team still weighing its veteran depth at receiver. Whether Philadelphia actually pursues a deal like that remains unclear, but it is the kind of late-summer move that can reshape the back end of a roster and give the Eagles one more experienced option to sort through before Week 1. [Read more 🡒]