It was the first time in nearly six months that the Eagles took the field since winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history and there was a lot of excitement inside Lincoln Financial Field. The 34-27 Eagles win did not have nearly as much at stake compared to their last game they played, but nonetheless, football was played in South Philly.
It was a near perfect game from the Eagles overall, with some hiccups on the defensive side. Here’s a look at some players who get a thumbs up or a thumbs down after the first preseason game.
Thumbs Up
Tanner McKee
Cue up Joe from Ridley Park calling for the backup quarterback to take over for the Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts on sports talk radio. All joking aside, McKee was practically flawless against Cincinnati’s first stringers to start the game and deserves two thumbs up.
The pocket passing QB picked apart the Bengals in his first two series going 5-for-6 for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown which was a Tush Push. McKee did not stop there. He went on to complete nine of his next 11 passes for 120 yards, connecting on a pair of touchdowns including one to Darius Cooper on an impressive 21-yard fade. Overall, McKee finished the game 14 of 17 for 193 yards with three total touchdowns, no interceptions and a 153.2 rating.
McKee has cemented himself as the backup to Hurts, but he may also have solidified himself as a top-32 quarterback in the league. There are easily a handful of teams that the third year out of Stanford could start for this season. The Eagles have the luxury of having him as an insurance policy in case something happens to Hurts.
The 6-foot-6 gunslinger also improved his stock in Madden the video game. After being shocked he was rated a 61, lower than rookie quarterback Kyle McCord (66), McKee’s performance should boost his rating in the game. It certainly boosted the confidence of the Eagles’ coaching staff and fans watching his performance Thursday night.
Darius Cooper
One of the best players in the history of Tarleton State Football, the wide receiver carried over his impressive performances in practice to the game Thursday night. An undrafted free agent, Cooper has turned heads leading up to the game and finished the night with six catches for 82 yards on seven targets with a touchdown. He averaged 13.7 yards per catch.
If you’re looking for an underdog to root for on this year’s roster, it very well could be Cooper. Growing up a big A.J. Brown fan, the young wideout had an impressive final season in college, being named First Team All-American finishing second across NCAA Division I in receiving yards with 1,450 while tied for sixth in the country with his 14 touchdowns.
Johnny Wilson
Sticking with the wideouts, Wilson deserves his flowers after a solid night. He did not have as many catches as Cooper, but did the most with them, racking up 73 yards on just three receptions. All three catches were highly contested, but the 6-foot-6 target used his stature and physicality to his advantage.
Having a quieter camp compared to his play against the Bengals, Wilson was an integral part of the team last year according to Nick Sirianni. Wilson more than likely already has a spot secured on the Eagles’ roster thanks to what he can bring on special teams which is one of the best ways to stick around on any NFL team.
Will Shipley
A position battle not many are discussing is the backup running back. Will Shipley and AJ Dillon are vying to be the first one in when Saquon Barkley needs a breather. Shipley outplayed Dillon in the victory, rushing for 48 yards on seven carries, albeit the bulk of that came on a 38-yard dash by Shipley.
The big play, which was the third offensive play of the game, was set up in large part due a block from right guard Tyler Steen, which is also promising as it is seemingly his job to lose on the offensive line. Shipley flashed some of his potential last season, most notably in the NFC Championship game when he galloped his way for a 57-yard sprint and then followed with a score from two yards out in the Eagles’ historic 55-23 stomping of Washington.
Thumbs Down
Kelee Ringo
It was a tough night for the young cornerback who drew the toughest test you could in the first game action of the season facing last year’s receiving triple crown winner in Ja’Marr Chase who is coming off a season where he had a staggering 1,708 yards on 127 catches to go with 17 touchdowns.
Ringo is still raw and learning the position at this level, but it would have been a great start for Ringo if he could have held his ground against one of the league’s premiere wide receivers after not separating himself much from incoming nine-year veteran Adoree’ Jackson who are both competing for that CB2 job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell along with newly acquired Jakorian Bennett who did not see the field after joining the team midweek.
Ringo was beaten by Chase on multiple occasions, something the star wideout does with regularity to all corners in the league. However, if Ringo was able to hold his own, he would have created some separation from Jackson in an impressive manner.
Adoree’ Jackson
Jackson did not play much better and failed to take advantage of the situation himself. The former Titan and Giant has been keeping pace with the younger Ringo in practice with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio calling the battle between the two “still close.”
Jackson gave up an easy first down to Chase in the first quarter, but then against backups, he surrendered a 21-yard reception to Charlie Jones on a first-and-20 going one-on-one in coverage. Overall, Jackson was targeted five times allowing four catches (1 drop) for 45 yards.
Overall, the Eagles played as well as a team could for it being the first preseason game. New Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo had a good rhythm with his play calling, often riding the hot hand whether it was handoffs to Shipley early or letting McKee sling it.
The Eagles finished with 432 total yards with 300 of that through the air with 132 coming on the ground. The team will continue a week of practice, including the public practice on Sunday which is sold out, before hosting the Cleveland Browns next Saturday at the Linc for Week 2 of the preseason.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
