Written by: Joseph Mooney
Twitter: @Full_MOONey25
The Eagles leave Jacksonville with just two healthy quarterbacks
Following Cody Kessler’s concussion, the Philadelphia Eagles are left with Carson Wentz and rookie Clayton Thornton as their only healthy quarterbacks remaining on their roster. The Eagles don’t need to fill their quarterback void immediately but filling the spot would help with reps in practice. The Eagles now may be forced to play Carson Wentz a little longer then they played in their Week 3 preseason matchup. Expect the Eagles’ front office to address this issue within the next few weeks.
Clayton Thornton has some potential
Although he only had a few chances to truly shine, Thornton took advantage of them. He led the Eagles to three scoring drives including a beautiful 38-yard pass to receiver Greg Ward JR. Thornton finished the game with 175 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception completing 16 of his 26 throws. The rookie honestly may enter the season as Carson Wentz’s backup. Even if he’s still rusty around the edges, Thornton’s numbers don’t paint the true picture of Thursday’s game against Jacksonville. Many drops and first game jitters impacted Thornton’s performance. He stood tall against the blitz and showed small promise for Eagle hopefuls. Let’s not forget the offensive line though, Thornton was only sacked once and hit twice during the game.
Running back by committee
It’s no secret the Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a true feature back and it was on full display against a talented Jaguars defense. The Eagles showed six different rushers out of the backfield on Thursday night. Backs combining for 128 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns as the Eagles used their depth at the running back position to close out the game against the Jaguars.
Not to much entertainment
Just like any other football fan, we want to watch the stars play. Another preseason game is in the books and yet again no big name starters saw the field. Although Eagle fans saw Carson Wentz and many other starters appear fully dressed and participating in warm-ups, none of those playmakers saw any playing time other than Jordan Howard. Yes, the game was quite boring as we saw little offensive talent on display. The good side of that, head coach, Doug Pederson is saving his players for when it really matters and reducing the chance of injuries. While many fans don’t enjoy the preseason, it grants playing time for those who may not get a chance to play during the regular season. It also grants the chance for those same players to give the coaching staff a true evaluation of what talent the roster has to offer.
Another Stellar Game From the Edge Rushers
The Philadelphia Eagles rode their defensive line tremendously during their Super Bowl run and that concept hasn’t changed. Yes, the league is aware of rushers such as Fletcher Cox, Timmy Jernigan, Malik Johnson, and Brandon Graham but this preseason the backups have made themselves known. Edge rushers, Deshon Hall, Shareef Miller, and many others have been constantly in the backfield of opposing teams creating havoc. With much depth at the position already, the Eagles show they know how to draft defensive linemen and how to devolve them quickly!
With Week 3 of the preseason approaching quickly, many are excited for the dress rehearsal game. Fans can expect to see some starters play around a quarter to a half of the game. Yes, 4 preseason games is very excessive. I believe rookies and new additions to the team need time and training to gain experience within their new system. On the other hand, it’s a shame for organizations and fan bases to lose hope over a meaningless preseason game. So, bring on the Baltimore Ravens! More importantly, bring on the Washington Redskins and the start of the regular season!