This was a preseason game Philadelphia Eagles fans would rather forget after getting blown out by the Baltimore Ravens, 24-7.
While the defense had some nice moments, the Eagles' offense was not good. They may be backups, third-i, and fourth-string players, but this was not encouraging to see.
There are 11 thoughts from this game that are mostly not good, but some positives from the loss. Here are those reactions to the matchup.
11 initial reactions to Eagles' performance against the Ravens in the preseason opener
Eagles' offense with Andy Dalton was...boring
The offense didn't get off to an impressive start, with Dalton starting at quarterback. The Eagles picked up 27 yards on the first three drives. It's clear they still have work to do.
Sean Mannion likes to throw the ball early and often
In Mannion's first game as a play-caller, he showed early on that the Eagles are going to throw the football. Within the first three drives, Philly threw the ball six times and ran it three times. Maybe things will be different when Saquon Barkley is in the game, but the Eagles seem to be more of a passing team for the moment.
Ty Robinson continues the momentum he had from training camp
Robinson is starting to pick up steam on the defensive line. He had a tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, and a sack in the first quarter. The Vanilla Gorilla dominated the defensive line and could be a sign of what's to come in the regular season.
Willie Lampkin is a bully on the offensive line
Lampkin played at center, and he had an incredible moment in the first quarter. On a third and 15, Dalton did a simple dump-off pass to Will Shipley, and Lampkin took the Ravens defender about nine yards and threw him to the ground another three yards in the air. Yeah, he's a force on the line and continues to impress.
Kelee Ringo does what Kelee Ringo does best...get burned
Eagles fans were warned that Ravens rookie wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane had a chance to make Ringo look bad, and he did. In the second quarter, Ringo gave Lane too much space, and Lane caught a pass and ran for a 16-yard touchdown. He's lucky he was able to get an interception late in the second quarter in the back of the end zone, or things could have been way worse for him.
Mac McWilliams wasn't that much better in coverage
Throughout the first half, McWilliams was getting beaten by the Ravens' wide receivers repeatedly. A true sign of a cornerback's performance is how many tackles they have. Nine tackles with no pass deflections against a backup and third-string quarterback is not the best look.
Backup offense is a big problem for the Eagles
The backup offense was pretty bad. 81 yards of total offense and only two first downs in the first 30 minutes of the game. Yes, it's preseason, but wow, two veteran quarterbacks couldn't do anything offensively, which is not a good look.
Tank Bigsby was underutilized horribly in Eagles offense
Bigsby's stat line was pretty simple: two rushing attempts for five yards and one target that was not caught. Stop when Eagles fans have heard this next sentence before: Why is Bigsby not getting the ball more? This offense still isn't using Bigsby, and it makes no sense when he averaged 5.9 yards per carry last season.
Eli Stowers actually looked pretty good in his debut
Stowers was called for a penalty on the first offensive play of the game for the Eagles. After that, he did pretty well. catching all three targets for 12 yards and did well when called upon to block. Sure, he's not going to break rookie records with those stats, but he looked better than he did in OTAs and the early part of training camp.
Shaun Wade was making some plays in the secondary for the Eagles
In a night where the Eagles' secondary was not great, Wade, the former UFL cornerback, had himself a good game. He finished with four tackles, one pass deflection, and a forced fumble in the third quarter that was recovered by the Eagles. Might be a sleeper to watch the rest of the preseason.
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Final thought is....just nothing
There's nothing good to talk about with this game. The defense had some nice moments, forcing two turnovers, but the offense was nonexistent. Philly has a lot of work to do to improve, as the team's depth isn't strong.
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