The Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason started last night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers had already played one preseason game before this one, the Hall of Fame game. This was the Eagles’ first game with new head coach Nick Sirianni. Hurts did make the start in the game, playing a few series, which was expected.
The Eagles did have ups and downs throughout the game, which is normal as it was their first game since last season. They lost to the Steelers 24-16.
Here are the pros and cons of the Eagles’ first preseason game..
There was a lot of good to be taken out of this first scrimmage from the Eagles. One of the good things to come out of this game was Jalen Hurts. There has been a lot of talk about Hurts not having the best training camp and how Sirianni still has not yet named him starter for the 2021 season. He proved that he can definitely throw the ball during the two series he played.
Hurts made nice accurate passes and found a lot of the open receivers. He was careful with the ball and if receivers were not open then he just threw the ball away. This is shows growth and veteran decision making by Hurts. He moved nicely throughout the pocket and when he did run he looked fast, which is to be expected out of Hurts. He was 3-for-7 on the night and had 53 passing yards. Hurts led the Eagles to a field goal during his time on the field.
Quez Watkins only had one reception on the night, but boy was it explosive. Flacco threw a screen pass to Watkins and he turned on jets and took off for a 79-yard touchdown. He also almost caught a long pass earlier in the game and had the defender beaten. The ball was just out of his reach and overthrown, though. He definitely looks like he was one of the fastest players on the Eagles’ roster.
Photo Courtesy of Yong Kim/ Philadelphia Inquirer
Tyree Jackson, the former quarterback from the University of Buffalo, also had a great game. The Eagles switched him too tight end and he is really excelling at the position. He has gotten really big physically, which makes him hard to bring down on the field. He had 2 receptions for 32 yards during the game.
Kicker Jake Elliot showed that he is not rusty at all. He was perfect on the night as he made all 3 of his field goals. 2 of these field goals were from 40-49 yards out and another was from 50 plus. This is a great thing to see from Elliot early on.
The first and second string defense played lights out in the early quarters. Unfortunately though, this was not the case when it came to the second and third stringers mixing to together in the second half. They could not stop the run at all. The Steelers had 152 rushing yards during the game. The Eagles defense looked gassed towards the end of the game and seemed to have given up some plays.
Nick Mullen went 1-for-5 for four yards. He was inaccurate and did not have a very strong throwing arm. Mullens also threw two interceptions on the night. If Mullens wants a shot to make the team, then he will need to play well during their next two preseason games.
Unfortunately Devonta Smith did not play as he is dealing with an injury. He will not be ready till week one of the regular season. This is unfortunate because he will not be acclimated to the NFL until the games count for real.
It would have been nice to see the Eagles commit to the run just a bit more. There is really nothing to say about any of the running backs because they didn’t get enough reps. Jason Huntley had the most rushing yards with 15. The Eagles only had 52 rushing yards the entire game.
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