Philadelphia Eagles: Should worry follow an up-and-down preseason win?
Should Philadelphia Eagles fans worry following a sloppy preseason win?
An up-and-down preseason game resulted in victory as the Philadelphia Eagles upended the Miami Dolphins in the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field. Anyone who tunes into an NFL football game hoping to see high scoring got exactly what they wanted. 38-31 would be the final score in a game filled with turnovers (seven), penalties (18) and touchdowns (nine).
Yes, it’s a win, but should fans be worried by the sloppy play?
A roller coaster ride at “The Linc”:
The immediate reaction in a high-scoring game would be to point fingers at the defensive units. That would be fair. Still, just like there were penalties by Ronald Darby that placed the ball at the one-yard line, there were ‘pick-six’ touchdowns by Mychal Kendricks. There were missed tackles and unexpected big plays by Don Cherry. His interception and 42-yard return set up a touchdown pass from Matt McGloin to Marcus Johnson that would, ultimately put the Eagles up for good.
Wentz is all smiles:
Philly’s second-year signal caller doesn’t appear to be worried:
"It was great to do it here, to do it in front of the fans. The fans get really excited about that so that’s really cool. Like I said all along I felt really confident in our chemistry with those guys going back to the spring but to finally do it in a game like situation is really good to see."
Sure, there were setbacks. That happens in every NFL game. Fans and coaches will, no doubt, ponder the missteps and snafus, but seeing Wentz and newly-added receiver Torrey Smith connect on a beautiful 50-yard bomb will ease some of the tension. On another drive, Wentz found Alshon Jeffery on a slant pattern that reached the end zone. Wentz would finish his ‘dress rehearsal’ with a six-for-ten performance in one half of football. He threw for 129 yards and had those two touchdowns, and he also tossed an interception.
Still, the man this team is banking the future on is liking what he’s seeing:
"I feel good. I feel confident. I’m thankful for the most part that everyone’s pretty healthy too so I think this offense tonight was a really good showing for us…Like I said the interception was unfortunate but we moved the ball well and for the starters it’s exciting to start getting ready for Washington"
Maybe those of us who are worried should calm down. Yes, it was week three of the preseason, but maybe that’s the point. It’s still preseason. Don’t expect to see the starters in the finale. They’ll be resting as the guys on the bubble fight for roster spots. We’ll see the starters again when the Washington Redskins come to Philadelphia on September 10th.